


Ghost

by amuk



Category: Naruto
Genre: Action/Adventure, Alternate Universe, Friendship, Gen, Healing, Hurt/Comfort, Identity Issues, Injury, Mystery, Romance, Spies & Secret Agents, Suspense
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-01-28
Updated: 2013-01-27
Packaged: 2017-11-27 05:31:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 17
Words: 20,620
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/658508
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/amuk/pseuds/amuk
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The mission is simple: break in and get the device, "Ghost". However, there are a few flaws with the plan, as Sakura and Sasuke realize. Just getting in alive will be hard.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Prompt: radars, spies, telephones

“We have another job for you,” a voice tells him and he nods. It comes with his job, of course, and he is expected to accept without a moment’s delay, no matter what he is doing.

 

“The information is in that file,” the voice continues and a file is handed to him. Opening the manila folder, he briefly scans through the contents, memorizing the information.

 

“Aa,” is all he says before he turns the page. “Solo?”

 

“No. This time, you’ll be working with _her_.”

 

“Her?” he looks at the last page. “ _Her_.”

 

“Yes. We thought she’d be best for this mission because of her skills. Also, you work well with her, right?”

 

He remains silent.

 

“This mission starts in two days.”

 

“Does she know, yet?” he finally asks.

 

The voice stops telling him about the mission, and replies, “No. She just came back yesterday and we were waiting to check her health before informing her.”

 

“…”

 

“We will be calling her soon,” the voice continues.

 

“No,” he says, immediately. “I’ll call her myself.”

 

-x-

 

In the middle of a blue room, there is a wooden table, on which lay a small phone. There is nothing else in that room—no windows, no carpets, nothing except for that table and phone. The table is rectangular, reaching a meter off the ground. The phone appears to be one of those ancient phones, the kind that you twirl the dial in order to get the numbers.

 

All of a sudden, the phone rings, disturbing the silent room. It rings three times, steadily, before the caller hangs up. Immediately, the only door into the room opens and a figure pauses, listening.

 

The phone rings again. Twice. Then, nothing.

 

Finally, the phone rings once and the figure runs and picks it up with a delicate hand. Placing it next to her ear, a feminine voice speaks, “Yes?”

 

A smile plays on her face as a deep voice responds on the other end. “We have a mission, Sakura.”

 

“Oh, really?” She takes a strand of her pink her and twirls it as she listens. “Go on.”

 

“I’ll tell you the brief overview of what is happening,” he replies. “There is a base that we will be scouting and then breaking into. In it, there is a certain device—a radar. It is a prototype and is very powerful—too powerful in fact. We are to get in, copy any files on it, destroy the machine, and then leave. We have three days to do it—two days to scout and one day to break in. At the end, we will be picked up at a checkpoint by helicopter. For specifics, report tomorrow at the main office. 0600 hours, sharp.”

 

He doesn’t ask if she remembers because he knows well enough that she has everything memorized. That’s the kind of spy she is.

 

“Understood,” she pauses before asking her question, “Who is my partner this time?”

 

“As I’ve said, _we_ shall be breaking in. Therefore, I am your partner,” his voice is curt and straight to the point, as usual, when he answers. Another smile graces her face. Some things never change.

 

“You? Really—” she hears the dial tone and frowns. That is the down side to him remaining the same. Usually, he never talks beyond what he needs to. Always business-like.

 

Long fingers press a button, cutting off her end and the phone is placed back onto the receiver. Running a hand through her wavy locks, her dark green eyes sparkle happily. Usually, she worked with Naruto or Ino on these missions. Sometimes, she even ended up teaming up with Hinata, Neji, and Shikamaru.

 

But him? She and Naruto used to be glued to his side, in a long distant past, even when they joined the agency. A few years after joining, though, he distanced himself from them. He usually took solo missions, with the occasional partner, and whenever they were free, he wasn’t. Luckily, though, she and Naruto still managed to meet him every now and then: holidays, parties, his apartment…

 

They weren’t as close as they used to be, but they were not too far apart. She managed to see him everyday, at least, even if it was just a glimpse sometimes.

 

Partnering with him, thought, is a lucky treat. She only did a few missions with him and they went as smooth as silk and were far more interesting than the normal ones. And this one had to be a good one.

 

After all, it wasn’t everyday that Uchiha Sasuke phoned his partner, giving the details himself on the mission.


	2. Mission One: November Alpha Mike Echo

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Glossary at the end for those who need it.

The snow was blowing, a harsh sound to her ears, and she looked up from where she was sitting. The window was open and she hastened to close it. For some reason, it wouldn’t shut.

 

“Hey, help me!” she called to—who? She couldn’t remember. She just knew there was someone in her room with her. She turned around, noticing the dark red walls, black cloth covering the furniture, and candles.

 

This was her room? She didn’t feel like it was but who’s else could it be?

 

“Help me!” she called again to the shadowy figure behind her. He—she knew instinctively it was a ‘he’—started to approach her. Slowly, ever so slowly, he walked across the room. The clock ticked, minutes flying as he attempted to get past her table.

 

Suddenly, the cold fingers grabbed her arms, pulling her out of the window.

 

“HELP!” she choked out, a hand covering her mouth.

 

The figure just stood by the window, staring down. Nobody helped her.

 

Sakura jolts awake, her eyes wide as the sound of an alarm clock filters in. She is bathed in a pale yellow light, warming her hands and face, and her heart is racing.

 

“It was just a dream,” she whispers to herself. “Just a dream.”

 

-x-

 

Sakura arrives early, about an hour so, her hair still wet from her shower. Her cheeks are flushed because it’s cool out and she shivers slightly, pulling her coat around her closer. Walking in the front doors of the building, she looks around to see where she should wait when she spots him.

 

 _No matter what time I arrive, he’s always earlier,_ she thinks with a wry grin.  “Hello, Sasuke-kun,” she calls out, causing him to look up at her. She gives a small wave, and as she nears him, she reaches out to touch him—

 

He is already walking away.

 

“Hey!” She childishly frowns at him. “What was that for? Naruto and Ino let me hug them! At least we can shake hands or somet—”

 

“We’re getting late,” Sasuke interrupts and he walks down the hallway. He doesn’t slow down for her or wait, expecting her to follow.

 

She always did.

 

“Hmph.” She scurries to catch up with him because he has longer legs and is already turning the corner. As she follows behind him, she notices he’s grown tall. He’s now at least a foot taller—making her the shortest person out of her three friends.

 

(This is seriously unfair and if she ever died on a mission, the first thing she would tell God is to stop being sexist and make tall girls.)

 

Time had been kind on Sasuke’s face, making it a little longer and with more refined features. He looks…aristocratic, a good feature for when they infiltrated those high-class societies. His back is as straight as ever, something she notices when he stops suddenly and she hits it.

 

“Hey!”

 

“We’re going in this room,” he murmurs to her as he takes out a key and unlocks the door.

 

“Oh, mission clothes!” she says, excited. They enter a large room, bigger than several warehouses, with racks on the walls and poles everywhere. Boxes are piled on the floor, opened, and clothes are just scattered everywhere. They entered from the seventh door, where two boxes of clothes are sitting, neatly packed, and name scribbled on each.

 

“We are going somewhere cold, further north than _Yukiguni_. Grab a coat, hat, and gloves, from the west.”

 

“Oh, so it’s a _takoku_ ,” Sakura muses as she grabs a dark green coat. She then searches for a black hat and gloves, preferably woolen.

 

Sasuke stands at the door, motioning for her to grab her box while he picked a few books from a shelf nearby and placed it on his box.

 

Quickly, she grabs her box, pre-packed thanks to Kurenai.

 

“Books?” she questions as she turns to go out the door.

 

“Our ‘tools’,” he replies as he placed half on her box and kept the rest.

 

“Thanks,” she groans, the box getting heavier. Her fingers could barely touch as her arms hugged the box to her chest, and she couldn’t see over the box.

 

Sasuke effortlessly closes the door and slips beside her, the box in one arm as he pulls a sheet out from his pocket with the other. Scanning it again, though she knows he already has the information memorized, he informs her of the mission in a monotonous voice.

 

“The town _Grêle_ , who’s code name is _koori_. We will refer to it as that, when we are talking to each other about the mission.” They are walking down the hall.

 

“Oh? A French town, then?”

 

“It had been conquered by the French centuries ago. The name stuck.”

 

“The radar is three kilometers from the town, near a popular hiking spot. Many tourists arrive, just to see the sunset from a large cliff, and we can fit in with them. Going there won’t be a problem.”

 

“What are our daggers?”

 

“We will be a brother/sister pair, teachers who wander around teaching those in rural areas. While there are tourists, they don’t usually give _koori_ a large revenue, making it still a small town.”

 

“Ahh…so wandering teachers are common among the towns, then.”

 

“Yes. For our cryptonym, our first names won’t be changed, as we are just relief teachers, trying to get practice before going to a war-zone. However, our last name will be _Segreto_.”

 

“What—oh, I see.” Sakura laughs. “Ironic. Won’t it be obvious, though?”

 

“Unlike other European countries, they don’t have three languages as a mandatory learning requirement. Italian and Spanish, as well as the other languages aren’t taught.”

 

He stops talking and she peers around her box to see if he is still walking.

 

Sasuke looks back at her, a small smirk on his face. “Brush up on your English and French.” He picks up her box and continues to walk, leaving her there standing. Sakura pats her cheeks, her palms cooling the blush from his smirk.

 

He definitely is still handsome.

 

“Especially after last time,” he adds, referring back to her old language tests.

 

Sakura frowns.

 

He also still is a jerk.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Glossary:
> 
>  
> 
> I probably brutally murdered the foreign languages I mixed in here, but…we’ll just ignore that.
> 
>  
> 
> Yukiguni—basically, it means snow country. What better way to name the setting but by the weather?
> 
>  
> 
> Takoku—original as ever, this one means foreign country. You can see I fully thought out these names.
> 
>  
> 
> Grêle—Hmm…a French town near the snow, what is this place called? Hail of course!
> 
>  
> 
> Koori—This one is fun. Considering what other names I’ve used, I’m sure this is pretty hard.
> 
> No? It means ice. Or, if you wanted to be funny, shaved ice.
> 
>  
> 
> Dagger—spy term meaning ‘a sophisticated disguise’. I’m only putting italics in the story around the foreign languages.
> 
>  
> 
> Cryptonym—this means code names. Maybe I should have changed Sasuke’s and Sakura’s name, but I think it would have made the whole thing more complicated.
> 
>  
> 
> Segreto—actually, I think this one would be my favourite name of all the ones I made. It means secret or mystery. It’s Italian.
> 
> A lame pun, that Sasuke says their last name is a ‘secret/mystery’, but it’s foreign. That makes it cool on its own.
> 
>  
> 
> Other Facts:
> 
> 1) The past tense will be dreams or the past. The beginning of this chapter was a dream. I was going to put it in italics, but that makes it so obvious…and I didn’t really want that. 
> 
>  
> 
> 2) My French teacher used to go to school in Europe, in a country called Albania, I think. Anyways, it is true that they have to learn at least two (or three?) other languages besides their first language.
> 
>  
> 
> 3) I’m going to try and mix in other foreign names, spy terms, and military terms, just to make the story more…spy-like. If you have any suggestions, go ahead and tell me. For example, this chapter’s title (and the next one) are in military code. This title is "NAME"
> 
>  
> 
> As well, if using this makes the chapters more confusing, I’ll cut down on the amount I use.
> 
>  
> 
> 4) There are traveling teachers, though I have no idea if they are in other countries than China and if they actually go by foot instead of vans and such.


	3. Mission Two: 10-14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> From now on, any dialogue with a () around it is in a foreign language (e.g. Japanese). Everything without it is English.

“(It’s cold. This place is very cold.)” Sakura sits on her slightly lumpy bed, hugging her knees to her chest.

 

“English or French.” Sasuke remains where he is, his back facing her.

 

“(Fine.) It’s cold.” Sakura watches him continue to open his bag on his softer bed. He starts to take out the small weapons he needed to start the first part of the plan. There are small knives and guns lying on his bed, easy things to hide but quick to be pulled out and used.

 

“And my bed’s lumpy.” He starts to hide the silver daggers in his clothing, ignoring her.

 

“(There’s only pig slop to eat.)” Sakura wonders if he’ll reply now.

 

“…” Click. Snap.

 

Apparently not. “(That lady at the desk looks suspicious.)”

 

“…” Rustle. Tap.

 

“(Sasuke-kun?)”

 

“…”

 

“Sasuke!” Sakura finally says his name in English, the name sounding alien to her ears. She turns around, frowning, to face his bed which is a few meters from her own.

 

Sasuke is wearing a black leather coat, a hat on his head and slim gloves covering his hands. Putting the final set of knives and guns into his pockets, he looks up at her.

 

“Have all your tools in there?” She comments, dryly, noticing his first bag is empty.

 

Sasuke raises an eyebrow at that question. “No.”

 

Oh yeah, how could she forget? Sasuke has too many weapons to have all of it on him.

 

“We only have a few days to gather additional information.” His voice is cool, frosty, and she knows he is professional again. Sure, he had been professional the whole time, but he relaxed a bit. Now he is once again the stern leader, no room left for joking or smiling.

 

“Research,” she muses, “I guess I’ll have to get ready now.” Sakura jumps off her bed, heading to the bathroom.

 

First, she’ll take a shower. A warm shower.

 

It is freezing outside, a blizzard nearly.

 

 

Sakura slips on her furry snow-pants, recalling the snow banks she saw outside earlier. Though they are unattractive, she could ditch them later, and she prefers to be warm instead of freezing. Sasuke already left, as they only have two weeks until the plane that left them returns.

 

After they had been dropped, the pair hiked for seven kilometers to the town where Sasuke rented a room at the cheapest hotel.

 

“Hello,” the owner greets Sakura as she descends the staircase.

 

“Hello…” Sakura smiles in return, eager to finish buttoning up her coat, putting on her boats and leave.

 

“How do you like the place? Is it good enough?” The owner is still young, in her early twenties, and it is no surprise that she starts to ask these questions. Soon enough, she’ll ask the most important one of them all.

 

_“How’s your brother?”_

 

“My…” Sakura remembers. “My brother, he’s fine. In fact, he’s looking around town before we start.”

 

“Oh? Late season for you to come.” The lady is probably just asking this to be nice. Really, she wants to know about Sasuke.

 

“There were enough teachers where we were.” Sakura finishes lacing up her boats now, standing up with a polite smile. “Thank you, again.”

 

“No problem. Tell your brother, if he has any concerns, to come to me.” Realizing what she said, the lady tacked on a, “You can come to me too.”

 

“Sure.” Sakura disappears out the door, rolling her eyes. Some girls…they are just so obvious.

 

-x-

 

The town isn’t too big, with only a few hotels and restaurants. The rest of the town is made up of small diners and stores, family businesses, and then just houses. Turning down a street, Sakura spots a few guys walking down the street. They look stiff, almost tired, and there is a purpose in their step.

 

They look like a lead.

 

Sakura carefully trails them, trying to appear a tourist. She glances at shop windows, cooing at the adorable dresses and wanting the glass jewelry. This part isn’t hard, especially when she comes across the most adorable teddy bear ever.

 

The hard part is to drag her eyes away and focus on her targets’ movements.

 

“Man, I’m beat,” one guy says, stretching his arms in an exaggerated fashion. He’s wearing green pants, tight against his body, and first few buttons of his dark shirt are unbuttoned. There’s a hat on his head, covering his eyes slightly, and a rifle slung across his back.

 

He looks like a ranger.

 

“Yeah, I know,” a chubbier fellow speaks beside him, rubbing his belly. “Standing all day in the forest makes me hungry. No good food at all.”

 

“Or heat, a gentle touch, or—” the last friend slyly adds on. He’s hit on the head before he can finish.

 

Sakura waits for them to round the corner before following more carefully. They might have some information.

 

Or she can at least borrow their uniforms later, getting intelligence that way.

 

-x-

 

She stares at her reflection for a moment, smoothing down her hair. The outfit she wears is good enough, not too revealing because of the town’s culture, but revealing enough to gain their attention. Her sleeves are short and the shirt is a little tight. Her jeans are tight around her legs, making them appear longer, and her hair curls around her face. Hopefully, she’ll get the last guy to talk—he seems the easiest one to get info out of.

 

Sakura pauses for a moment, remembering that there is a bar out there. Maybe Sasuke is already visiting bars, getting information that way. If so, then she might as well just go out and get information from people on the streets.

 

Frustrated, she runs her hands through her hair, trying to figure out what to do. She didn’t see Sasuke in there when she entered, meaning he isn’t here or he’s already left.

 

Besides, would he need that many weapons, for a simple bar?

 

No is the answer but Sasuke always carries weapons. She doesn’t know where he is, or what he’s doing. It’s always like that, for some reason, and while she has come to accept it, she doesn’t like it. Would it kill him to write a note?

 

(The answer is probably yes, considering it is to her.)

 

Shaking her head, she realizes that he usually knows what she’s doing. As unnerving as that is, he used to be able to do that years ago. He probably hasn’t lost that talent.

 

She can continue then. He’ll figure out where she is and investigate somewhere else.

 

Sakura smiles at her reflection.

 

“Hey girlie,” a voice yells from the bar.

 

The reflection smiles back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Glossary:  
> EEI—this stands for ‘essential elements of information’. Basically, it’s an outline on how to collect information.
> 
> 10-14—this is a code used in vehicles, it means “Where are you located?”
> 
>  
> 
> Things to know:  
> Only one, this time. The ‘foreign’ languages I’m using will mostly be Japanese. That’s how Sasuke and Sakura will converse with each other. I might use another one later, which you can guess what language it is until I reveal it. As well, when they are talking to the townsfolk and not in ‘foreign’ languages, it will probably be mostly English. However, I might throw in a French man and tell you specifically, there is French going on here.


	4. Mission Three: UNSUB

He isn’t sure why he woke up. The alley is as silent as it normally is, maybe even more so as the other occupants haven’t woken up yet. Small noises, like a dog barking or a cat yowling, can be heard but that isn’t enough to wake him up. Those are sounds he hears throughout the day; so much in fact that he ignores them.

 

No, it certainly wasn’t a sound that woke him up. As he glances down the alley, looking right and left for any stranger, he can’t see anyone either. So, if it wasn’t a noise or a thing, then what could it have been?

 

Resting his head in his dirty hands, he stares at the ground for a moment. His eyes trace the spider web cracks running through the faded black tar. It had been a long time since the city last fixed this part of town, probably a long time till they do it again. The black turns darker as he sees the briefest shadow sail past him. Immediately he snaps his head up. Yet again, there is no one but now he can see the tail of a coat turn a corner. A black coat, probably a fancy one and the person wearing it must be just as rich. So why would a person like that be here, a place that he would never have to enter otherwise?

 

Who would want to come here anyways, a place where broken dreams live and all colour is black and white? Certainly no one with money, something that jingled in thoughts now and disappeared as quickly as it can be found. Only people who have come to the same realization that their lives have slipped away from them would enter this place willingly. Occasionally, there would be a person forced here and, the worst of all, a person born here.

 

He had been born here, though his mother certainly hadn’t come from this town. She had come from a distant land and used to tell him stories about it all the time. That is something he likes to dream about, a fairytale land he could disappear in for hours at a time.

 

The person is getting further away by now and quickly he stands up. Ignoring the grumble in his stomach, he slips down the street. Something new is happening and Lucian is determined to find out what.

 

-x-

 

“Hey, isn’t she a pretty thing?” One guy whispers to the other. “And new too, which means she might want someone to show her around, if you know what I mean.”

 

Staring at her glass, Sakura wrinkles her nose in disgust. _What a pig,_ she thinks. Her **rabbit** had been talking like for half an hour and everything he tried to whisper could be heard by someone across the room. Still, he could be a lead and that is the only reason she is ignoring him.

 

One of the best ways to get a guy is to let him come to you. Ino told her that when they were learning how to be **honey pots** years ago. Even though she doesn’t usually do that side of the job, it is something Sakura has found to work. Shifting her cup, she sees his reflection in it, moving slowly towards her.

_Finally._

She carefully crosses her legs, glances behind her, and gives him a long stare. Then, when she is sure that he is watching, a smile slowly spread across her face.

 

He grins back and ambles over confidently, occasionally throwing a smirk back to his friends.

 

“Hello, you new around here?” he asks when he sits beside her. She has to resist the urge to roll her eyes and instead pretends that he had actually been whispering earlier.

 

“Yeah, how did you know?”

 

“Well, I haven’t seen you here before. Trust me, I would have known if someone has beautiful as you lived here.”

 

He would have also known her fist. “You aren’t that bad yourself.”

 

“I give only the best.”

 

“That depends on what you give.”  

 

He laughs. “You play well.”

 

“Only the best,” she repeats echoing his words.

 

Shaking his head, he watches her with mild amusement before continuing. “So what are you doing in these parts?”

 

“Well,” she gives him a sheepish look. “I got a little lost. I was trying to see if there are any sights and ended up in here.”

 

“If you end up here, then we will certainly know each other better.” He gives her a flirtatious grin and she has to admit, he is handsome. A lady’s man, though, so his looks probably are the best things about him. “I’m Kiba.”

 

“I’m Sakura.” She glances down at her watch. “And it’s five pm. I wasted most of the day.”

 

“Want to waste the rest of it?”

 

She bats an eye and puts a hand on his chest. “Not now, though I was wondering if you knew anyone who could give me a tour tomorrow.” Her head leans closer, her breath warming his ear. Tracing a pattern on his chest with her fingers, she continues to whisper in his ear. “A private tour, in the woods.”

 

“I know just the man,” he smirked, not even slightly blushing, and cocks his head. “He happens to work there in fact.”

 

“Really? Then he wouldn’t mind showing me secret areas, where no one else would come.” She takes a step back, prompting him to move forward.

 

“When would you like to meet him?”

 

“Here, in the morning?”

 

Kiba takes another step forward and Sakura nimbly dodges his hands. As she heads to the door, she answers her question for him. “I guess in the morning it is.”

 

-x-

 

“(Is it ready?)” A young woman glances up from where she is busy scribbling something and frowns.

 

“(Stop asking me that, already…I told you it would take a little longer.)” She turns back to her work when the man with her speaks again.

 

“(You know, a party might start soon and it needs to be done by then. It would be very useful.)”

 

Slightly irritated, she snaps, “(Of course it would be useful to have this. It just wouldn’t be as fun for _him_.)”

 

“…” The man grimaces as he thinks of the implications. “(You’re right, it wouldn’t.)”

 

“(And who would he take it out on?)” she prompts.

 

He doesn’t even think, answering immediately. “(Us.)”

 

She smirks. “(You.)”

 

“Hey!”

 

“(Practicing your languages again?)”

 

“(Yeah.)”

 

“(I might actually be able to send you to buy my supplies. You can be useful for once.)”

 

“(…great, I’m going to be your delivery boy too. How much longer is this—)”

 

“(I would be done now if you had done your part!)” she hisses, her fist slamming on the table angrily.

 

He smiles sheepishly. “(Oh…right…You’re good at this? I couldn’t do as good a job as you.)”

 

She growls again, rubbing her head this time. “(I’m tired and cranky because I haven’t gotten enough sleep as it is. I’ve only slept for two hours yesterday. And I have to work on our other project as well.)”

 

“(…uh…anything I can do?)”

 

She gives him a grin, one that forebears disaster, and he wonders if it is possible to disappear.

 

 

-x-

 

There is blood, oh so much blood, and it’s littering the wall.

 

The streets were still empty when Lucian followed the stranger. Silently he crept behind the man—at least, he thought it was a man. The stranger’s body was big and moved more like the men he secretly tried to imitate, so it probably was a man. Occasionally the stranger would stop, as though he heard someone.

 

 Fortunately, due to living on the streets, Lucian knew how to move quickly and stealthily. He could hide easily as well, knowing where every shadow lay. In a sense, Lucian was a ghost when he moved.

 

(And it is hard to think otherwise, when no one glances at him or pays attention to him. When everything he does means nothing to the world, Lucian can never quite tell if he actually is a ghost or just pretending to be one.)

 

The stranger turned down several side streets, going to an even more shady part of town. If he remembered correctly, this was where the underground market did its more darker, serious dealings. Sometimes it would be drugs, highly exotic and expensive goods, and the occasional person. Lucian never understood why the cops would ignore where the dealings would go on and still complain they can’t find any clues.

 

Finally, they turned down an alley to find some guy leaning against the wall. From where he was spying on them, the boy could see them talk. It was in low whispers and he could barely hear anything. The occasional word would slip through, but it was so disjointed that he couldn’t understand what was being said.

 

“…buy…forest…”

 

“….woods…location….money…”

 

“….lot…long…”

 

After a while of this, he was about to creep away when he heard a sudden thump. A bright, silverly flash appeared—a knife? Too long—and suddenly there was a splat sound, followed by the scrape of metal against brick. The wall was painted a dark red and the body slid to the floor.

 

As the stranger turns to see him, Lucian wonders just what he walked into.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Glossary:
> 
>  
> 
> Rabbit—a fancy way of saying ‘target’ or the object of surveillance.
> 
> Honey Pot—a female agent who uses romance to get information.
> 
> UNSUB—an acronym for any ‘unknown subject’ that appears when an agent is following or watching a target.


	5. Mission Four: Rendezvous

When Sakura returns to their empty apartment, she is smiling broadly. Finally, after being shown up by Naruto and Sasuke for all those years, she has managed to get a big lead. Someone who can give her all the information she needs without her having to make too much of an effort.

 

Definitely, Sasuke will see how much she has improved since the last time they had worked together. She doesn’t need him to keep an eye on her, doing all the hard work and leaving her to clean up the mess. No, she can pull her own weight now.

 

After he realizes that, he can take back everything he said those years ago and admit she really is worth something. She is no longer the ‘pretty face’.

 

Looking over at the neat bed, she can tell Sasuke hadn’t returned since they left. The bags he left lying under the bed neatly are scattered in a haphazard manner—probably the inn owner, trying to get something on him. Pushing the bags back under the bed, she collapsed on her own mattress and stretched. “I have a long day tomorrow,” she mused. “I wonder what should I wear…” She closed her eyes for a moment, just enjoying the silence of the moment.

 

She jolts up a minute later. “Did I even pack enough clothes?” About to leap off her bed, she remembers the small package Kurenai passed her before they left. She sinks back into the bed, realizing that any clothes she needs are probably in that package.

 

Outside the sun slowly set, the sky turning from a light blue to a navy blue, then purple and orange, and finally a dark, midnight blue. The stars twinkled at her from above and Sasuke still hadn’t returned.

 

“Why does he always do this?” she murmurs to herself, slowly getting off the bed and heading to the bathroom. It was a colossal waste of time waiting. “Is it too much to ask for a check in time or something? How am I supposed to know if he’s doing something important or something important is doing him in? How am I supposed to reach him if _I_ need him?”

 

Sliding a hand through her pink locks, Sakura turns on the shower and quickly stripped. “A hot bath, just what I need.” The hot drops pelt her hand as she reaches in to see if it’s warmed enough and she gets in. “I’ll look for something to wear after. Ino would be useful at this…the one time I need her is the one time she isn’t here.” She made a face, annoyed.

 

Lathering the soap on her, she grumbles a little. The hot water is relaxing enough, the tension in her shoulders leaving. Combing her hair with her hands, she applies shampoo and cleans it. This town is dirtier than she expected.

 

The front door clicks open and she jumps.

 

-x-

 

“(I think it should be nearly done by now,)” she finally says, taking off her goggles. Tossing them off to one side carelessly, she rests her head on her arms. Staring at tiny print for hours, trying to follow instructions to the dot, it was exhausting.

 

“(Is it really worth all this effort?)” he asks, done with all the errands that she had him do earlier. That was what he got for trying to be helpful. He had to go running all over the base for small things that were hidden everywhere. A scavenger hunt, he couldn’t even find half of the items only to be told they were with her in the first place. It was the last time he volunteered to help.

 

She sighs, lifting her head off the table. Like he did any effort worth talking about. Rubbing her forehead, she replies, “(…maybe. I think it is. This all depends if that man can be trusted.)”

 

He looks at her quickly. There was only one person she can be talking about, the one person rumors are buzzing on. “(You don’t?)” Everyone else does, as far as he knows.

 

“(Something about him strikes me as odd…I’m only following this for _his_ sake.)”

 

His mouth splits into a grin. “(Aww…you love him.)”

 

“(I don’t. I am merely ensuring our secrets are kept that way.)”

 

“(I knew it!)” He teases her like this because he knows the truth. It’s hard to love _him_ considering what’s been done.

 

She glares at him, annoyed. “(Once more, I don’t. Say one word of this to him and I’ll tell him what you did to his bear.)”

 

“…” That promptly shuts him up. She smiles a little, feeling more relaxed with the silence.

 

“(I suppose we will have to start working on the second phase a little. For now, let’s go visit _him_. I have to access _his_ behaviour once more. That and double check our other locked away things are…safely hidden still.)”

 

“(Are you going to work on…)”

 

“(Yes. I’m nearly done it.)”

 

“…” He sighs and follows her out.

 

-x-

 

Peering through the crack in the bathroom door, Sakura remains tense in her gown as she waits for the figure to approach her bed. Just a little further and she could see them.

 

Just a little further and she could attack.

 

She isn’t sure of who would sneak in or why, but it’s better if she kept vary and ready. Always assume it’s the enemy and not an ally; one of the first rules she learned.

 

The light steps approach her bed, not hesitant or searching. This person knows just what he is looking for, knows it and didn’t waste any time looking for the room’s occupants. Either the thief is confident no one is home or thinks that he could defeat her.

 

Or, this thief is very good at his job, hired by someone. Maybe this thief isn’t even a thief but an assassin….

 

She shivers and shakes that thought out of her head.

 

Either way, a surprise attack would be good. Then the figure approaches her bed and she relaxes It is only Sasuke.

 

Except, and she tenses once more, he has flecks of blood over his black coat. They stand out like red lights in a pitch black room.

 

Tightening the bath robe around her, she opens the door. “Hey, what happened to you?”

 

Sasuke looks over his shoulder to her, his movements momentarily stopped. Then he continues to take off his coat as he replies. “Information gathering.”

 

“Yeah, I know that much.” She resists the urge to roll her eyes. Does he really think she doesn’t know that? “Why is there blood on you?”

 

“…Information gathering,” he repeats. There was nothing else she could get from him. Did that mean he tortured someone? Killed someone? He wasn’t hurt, that was for certain, and he isn’t going to tell her what happened unless he thinks it’s necessary.

 

Well, two could play at that game.

 

“I got some information myself,” she tells him once he leaves the shower. “I have a very reliable source that works within the company.” She pauses, watching him take out a coat identical to the first to wear. “You never run out of those, do you?”

 

-x-

 

The room is silent, almost too silent. While she is used to it—with her partner, everything is made up of silences, she doesn’t like it. It’s at times like these that she wishes she is still working with her old team before they disbanded.

 

Her boss sits in front of her, across a mahogany table. Glancing at her reflection in the shiny redish wood, she wonders how much it cost. Probably more than what she makes, that’s for certain. In fact, everything in this room is beyond her paycheck.

 

“(Do you understand?)” her boss says finally, watching them intently, dragging her attention back to the matter at hand.

 

She understands what has to be done perfectly well and knows that he must as well. He is a genius, after all. “(Yes.)”

 

“(When do we intercept them?)” he asks. Always straight to the point, clarifying anything that was cloudy. She doesn’t bother with questions, if she needs an answer she can always get one from him.

 

Glancing at her nails, she waits for them to finish discussing their next target. Hmm…they are getting long again. She’ll have to cut them before they get in the way.

 

“(In a few days. I’ll call you when. Until then, just get ready. It’s cold where you are going.)”

 

“(…we will be waiting here, then?)”

 

“(Yes. I’ve already made the arrangements. Now, leave.)”

 

She gets up, stretches, and follows him out. Hopefully this mission would be more interesting than the last.


	6. Mission Five: Floater

When Sakura wakes up the next morning, Sasuke isn’t there. His bed is made up, as usual, his clothes put into a neat pile in a small corner, as usual, and his blood-flecked coat is…

 

Nowhere to be found.

 

He’s either still wearing it—something Sakura doubts because even though he is practical, wearing that will probably attract attention and he should know better anyways—or he washed/hid it.

 

Not that she’s going to look for it because she doesn’t care and she’s not his maid.

 

Stretching, she looked at the clock. The bright red numbers read ‘6:00am’, which isn’t too bad considering she gave a vague idea of meeting him in the morning.

 

Ten o’clock is still in the morning. So is eleven o’clock, when she thought of it. Sleeping in a little longer wouldn’t be too bad.

 

Then she thinks of Sasuke and his information, of Sasuke not telling her of anything and Sakura leaps out of bed. He’s still doubting her, after all these years. Not that she can blame him—the last time he saw her she was still learning how to become a good spy.

 

Still, he could trust her a little. There is a reason she is working with him, after all, and he’s still acting like he has to do this all by himself. He’s still acting like she can’t do anything to help.

 

Oh, she’ll show just what she can do. After all, she used to be an **agent provocateur**. Kiba couldn’t be that hard compared to those targets.

 

-x-

 

The room is as empty and silent as it is whenever they get ready for a mission. She supposes this is because most of the other spies in their group aren’t allowed to interact with them or even know about them, in some cases. It comes with doing the more dirty work.

 

The only sound is the click and snaps of their harnesses coming on and weapons getting cleaned. Looking in the barrel of her gun, she nods in approval before loading it up with bullets and putting it to rest on the table in front of him.

 

He’s getting dressed in front of her. At one time, that made her nervous but it no longer makes her react. They’ve seen each other in less, with scratches and wounds littering their bodies and it no longer meant anything to see him like that.

 

She pauses for a moment, wondering just how bad it is that she doesn’t even get attracted the way other people do anymore. He notices her pause but doesn’t comment on it.

 

“So, we have two **birdwatcher’s** , then?” she finally says, before giving a short, mirthless chuckle. “I need to…(stop speaking like that, using British terms. Must come from being an **Agent-in-place** for so long with them.)” She notices how he doesn’t say anything, just checking if he has enough ammo and sighs. “(Not that you ever have any problems with that.)”

 

Checking her knife’s blade, she presses a finger to it and gets a small cut. “(Not sharp enough.)”

 

“(We have to be stealthy.)” He speaks after another long silence. Obviously, this matter has been weighing on his mind for a while but she doesn’t know why. She can be stealthy.

 

He could ask the men she killed just how stealthy she is.

 

There is another pause and it seems like he’s waiting for a response.

 

“(Yes?)”

 

“(… _they_ might be coming.)” He doesn’t look at her as he says this but she hears the stress on the ‘they’ and instantly knows who they are talking about.

 

Still, she tries.

 

“(Who?)”

 

He sighs this time, knowing her game and breaking it just as quickly as it started. “(The other two. It is not confirmed yet as there has been no information if they have finished their other mission, but we might have to meet with them along the way.)”

 

Cringing, she slumps forward a little. She liked the small peace she got while they were away on their own, separate mission. She loved them both, she really did, it just grew tiring when she had to be with them.

 

“(They don’t know what stealth is.)”

 

-x-

 

Sasuke made his way to the slums, slinking and creeping his way there so no one could recognize him or realize his true intentions. If he has it his way, he will do this without anyone even knowing that he exists.

 

Luckily, for most of the way, people hurried from store to store, eager to get their groceries or presents or whatever caught their eye and get home. The sky is a little cloudy, meaning snow or hail and no one gets caught.

 

So no one pays attention when a tall, cloaked man slips into the alleys at the beginning of the slum.

 

No one sees, because time and experience makes them ignore him anyways, the little boy scurrying in after.

 

“I’m…I’m here,” Lucian squeaks after he follows Sasuke deeper and deeper into the slums. They go past the drunks and the druggies, the starved and the angry, into areas that even the residents don’t like to go because the deals made here are too dangerous. “I…I got…it.” He struggles with the English words, trying to remember what to use when. Normally, he speaks in French but most visitors don’t know that language, don’t understand the simple beauty of it.

 

To his surprise, the response comes in French. “(Talk in French if it is easier.)”

 

“(Thank you.)” Lucian gives him a shy smile before pulling a crumpled piece of paper from his pocket. “(I managed to get the paper, just like you asked. It has the layout of the place.)”

 

Sasuke looks at it, wary. “(Where did you get it?)” He doesn’t like relying on children to help him, they are too gullible and naïve and mostly useless. However, Lucian has a special talent that can help him.

 

He knows secret ways in and out of the laboratory, ways that even the architects who built it didn’t know existed.

 

It was very lucky that this boy happened to be near when he killed that other spy.

 

Still, he is cautious because it is a fundamental rule of being a spy and Sasuke doesn’t believe in luck or coincidence.

 

Instead, he believes in other spies sending the boy down to him.

 

“(My…maman,)” the boy’s voice cracks a little as he says this. “(It was her’s.)”

 

Sasuke notices the past tense but doesn’t ask. It’s not his concern what happened to her. Holding out a hand, he takes the paper and carefully unfurls it, looking at the diagrams inside. It seems legit but he has other sources he can use to confirm it just in case.

 

“(You will still be leading us there.)” It is not a request, Lucian notes as he nods. This is a man used to getting what he wants.

 

“(I will be back here later to tell you when we will leave.)” With that, Sasuke turns and leaves, off to see his other informants.

 

Lucian doesn’t bother to ask him for a time—Sasuke didn’t give him one last time and where else would he go anyways?

 

-x-

 

Sakura glances at herself in the reflection as she walks down the streets, noticing the faux-fur-trimmed jacket and gloves. It looks nice, she thinks, for something that was available last minute. They matched too, down to her long, black boots and her sleek ear-muffs.

 

“This will do nicely,” she whispers to herself as she heads down the street. Presentation is important after all, it’s the first thing that will catch the target’s attention. It will change the mission from a fail to a success.

 

As she walks down to the bar, she hears a whistle and turns quickly. A jeep, painted various shades of green, pulls up to her and Kiba smirks when she sees him.

 

“You dress up like this for me?”

 

Laughing, she opens the door and slides in. “You? Of course not. I’m dressing like this for all the bird-watchers out there. Have to give them a show, after all.”

 

He chuckles, driving down the road. “As long as you give me one first.”

 

“Of course.” It will be a show he won’t soon forget.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Agent provocateur—a deep-cover agent who feigns enthusiastic support while tempting the target to incriminate themselves
> 
>  
> 
> Agent-in-place—an agent who stays in his regular job but actually is in that job to get secret info and spy
> 
>  
> 
> Birdwatcher—slang used by british intelligence for a spy
> 
>  
> 
> Floater: a person used one-time, occasionally, or even unknowingly for an intelligence operation.


	7. Mission Six: Blown

She is in the room again, but it has changed somehow. It’s just as dark, with the walls painted a blood red that freezes her blood. The colour is so dark, she isn’t sure if it is just paint or if actual blood was used.

 

Sakura isn’t sure if she wants to find out either.

 

A howling sound comes through the open window, the wind screaming and tearing through the trees outside. She can see their shapes, crooked old men that bang against the walls, wanting to get in. Grimacing, she turns to close it but the windows won’t close.

 

( _Like last time_ …)

 

It feels familiar, this scene, this scenario, but she can’t remember why. Maybe she had been here before, though she would never forget a place as eerie as this.

 

The sound of footsteps, as light as a cat’s but still audible over the wind, comes behind her. Suddenly, the sounds from outside disappear, as though someone just clicked the mute button. Sakura can feel the person staring at her, feel the hate and anger and she shivers involuntarily.

 

-I have to turn-

 

-I have to look at him-

 

She gets the feeling if she doesn’t look, she won’t get hurt. That if she just stares out the window he won’t see her and won’t touch her.

 

-I have to look-

 

Slowly, she turns around and sees the dark figure approach her. He isn’t much taller than her and in the dark, she can’t make out anything of the person.

 

A flash of lightening changes that.

 

-x-

 

Sakura wakes up with a start.

 

“Sleeping Beauty woke up?” Kiba sighs as the car turns right. “I was hoping she needed a kiss for that.”

 

She gives him a sheepish smile as she quickly glances outside the window. They are still on the road, approaching the turn off to the forest. It had been an hour since they started, she notes looking at the digital numbers.

 

“I tend to fall asleep in cars,” she says, rubbing her head a little. It is not a complete lie, she does sometimes fall asleep but that is whenever she has a long ride.

 

And when she is with fellow agents, people she could trust. Not one of her targets who could easily attack her.

 

It is a good thing Sasuke isn’t here, Sakura thought as she stretched lightly. He would be disappointed, or worse, think that she couldn’t manage a simple job at all. And she had worked hard, too hard, for it to all go to waste because of a small mistake.

 

Kiba gives her a smile and she thinks it is a waste.

 

-x-

 

He watches her look through the microscope, sometimes turning a knob when she starts to frown and glare through the lens, other times moving the slid around with annoyance. Her back is slouching forward and her eyes blink tiredly every now and then.

 

She’s overworked, he knows, but there is nothing he can do about it. They need to finish in a few days and no one could do this but her. It is unfortunate that she is so good at what she does—when helps is needed, it isn’t there.

 

“(Are you…ok?)” he asks her, unable to hold it in when she sways a little as she stands up.

 

“(What do you think?)” Her tone sounds even sharper with her clipped words and the harsh sound of her German tongue. Sighing, she stretches, pulling her arms behind her until he can hear small cricks in her back. Rubbing her forehead, she continues with a slightly softer tone. “(Yes.)”

 

Normally, she would be taunting or hitting him at this point—she is such a feminist. Any comment on his part, any worry, and she would think that he didn’t think she could manage.

 

“(That’s good.)” He thinks it is better if he worries about her than let her do all the worrying. After all the work she has done, all the time and effort she puts in trying to protect them and keep them safe, it is the least he can do.

 

“(Anyways,)” She turns to him, her eyebrows furrowed. “(Why are you doing nothing?)”

 

“(Uh…I’m…)” Watching you, making sure you won’t collapse is what the truth would be. “(I’m going to be reading. Something useful.)”

 

“(Playing again, I see.)” She is about to make another comment about her toys but stops herself. “(I’ve been looking at this blood sample and…I don’t know. It seems like he’s compatible with it but it isn’t working yet.)”

 

He groans. “(Are you sure? Do I…do I have to get another one?)” He hopes not—getting the first one was hard enough. Blood samples meant getting close and that meant scars and wounds sometimes. It depended on _his_ mood.

 

“(No.)” She shakes her head, looking at the results once more. Getting more blood is like wishing for death at this point. “(I will first check the machine once more. Perhaps you forgot to do something. Again.)”

 

“(I didn’t,)” he protests, though it is a weak one because she is probably right.

 

“(Really?)” She isn’t fully listening to him but he knows that he is going to regret those words.

 

He already is.

 

-x-

 

Sasuke glances at the information he got from his other informant. She was an **illegal** , which meant that this mission had been planned for longer than he expected. The paper is getting a little crinkled from his hands and the wind so he shoves it in his pocket.

 

His other informant, the little boy, troubles him. It is convenient that the boy has the information he needs but at the same time, it feels suspicious. As though the boy had been placed there for him to see, a trap to catch him.

 

Sasuke doesn’t like not knowing things, to be left guessing and wondering. If he could, he would use a **bride agent** , but there are none in this area. It’s too calm, too peaceful for the most part to need one. As it is, he can’t expect contact for days anyways and by then it would be too late.

 

Instead, he will play it careful with the boy, in case he is right. Turning the corner of the street, he watches the pedestrians carefully, making note of any that seemed to loiter or look at the building too much. Then, he enters the hotel and goes to his (their) room.

 

To their empty room.

 

 

-x-

 

Lucian scurries to the other side of the street, mindful or the cars and the carriages that could break any part of him unfortunate enough to come into contact. One time, he had twisted his ankle trying to dodge a car and the pain nearly killed him alone.

 

That with the fact that if he gets hurt again, he couldn’t steal—borrow, because stealing is bad and Maman would be angry and disappointed if he steals and doesn’t find a way to pay back—and instead will have to would have to resort to begging.

 

Begging only works so far in this town—everyone here believes that beggars chose this life and it is a waste to help them.

 

A horn blares and he quickly jumps forward, narrowly dodging the car.

 

“(This is no time to be daydreaming,)” he scolds himself before rubbing his fingers together and breathing on them. Little puffs of air leave him like clouds and he watches as they join the sky. “(I wonder if they become a big cloud, capable of doing great things.)”

 

He wishes that is the case because then, maybe a little slip of a boy like him can do something amazing too one day.

 

Someone yells at him and he ducks to avoid the can thrown at him. For now, he needs gloves more than he needs a dream and he pushes his thoughts aside.

 

-x-

 

Sasuke glances around, slightly surprised by Sakura’s absence. He isn’t completely; Sakura these days would not let another agent do all the work.

 

There are no notes on the table or the bed, no sign at all of what she planned on doing or where she went. She didn’t even leave a cryptic message behind for him, something all spies do so they have backup. He’ll have to check their spot later, but he doubts she remembered it. Impulsive, she is like Naruto when she is trying to prove something or is angry.

 

 _I have a source too_. Sakura had said that she also had some informant or target she could get information from. A date, if he remembers correctly, is what she told him before they went to bed. The guy is some sort of guard in the forest and she planned on going on a date to get all the information she needed.

 

His hands tense, crinkling the paper even more, and he leaves the room.

 

-x-

 

“It’s peaceful out here,” Sakura comments as she looks around at the towering trees and the open meadows. It isn’t a bad reserve, though she’s been to better, and she catches a glimpse of a deer before it escapes the scene.

 

“Isn’t it?” Kiba starts to tell her about something he saw the other day and she tunes out for a moment, observing her prey.

 

Sakura watches him as he talks, watches the way his eyes brighten and his mouth curves mischievously. It’s too bad that Kiba’s an enemy. He seems nice enough and Ino would hate her for hurting someone as good-looking as him.

 

He is even a gentleman at times. When they arrived at the forest, he even opened the door for her and asked where she wanted to go. Instead of just talking about himself, he asked about her and talked about things they both liked or interesting topics.

 

(If only the other agents—like Naruto or Sasuke—would learn something from him.)

 

Still, she wants her mission to be a **bag job** and she will probably have to mar that face of his in order to get the info. At least he isn’t too striking.

 

Glancing around, she tries to find a good place to hide him. Nothing appeared good so far—the clearings were too open, the forest too clustered for her to give a good fight, the river too popular with fishermen. As they walk, the rocks crunching under their feet, she grins at the sight of an overhang near the river, one far away enough that no one can hear or see them.

 

“Hey, let’s go there,” Sakura points at the spot, noticing a few birds landing nearby. “I want to see those birds.”

 

Kiba follows her finger and nods. “They’re graceful when they swim. Almost like dancers.”

 

It’s almost too easy, she thinks when she has him looking down at the river and she is about to knock him out. In fact, it is too easy and that in itself gives her a feeling of dread and unease. Things are going to well for there not to be a catch.

 

When he turns around and catches her hand, she feels an irrational sense of relief.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Terms:
> 
> Bag Job: surreptitious entry, break and enter
> 
> Blown: detected
> 
> An Illegal: a person who pretends to be a citizen but actually is from another country using a false identity in order to spy or help other spies.
> 
> Bride Agent: an agent who acts as a courier from a case officer to an agent in a denied area


	8. Mission Seven: Waiting

His fingers wrap around her fist and she almost sighs with relief.

 

Almost, but not quite. Immediately, she brings her other fist up, hitting him square on the chin. The shock makes him let go and she flips backwards, keeping some distance between them.

 

Something had felt odd about how easy this was going. Apparently he had known who she was the whole time.

 

Warily, she walks around him in a big circle. Watching him the whole time, trying to see any chinks in his armor. He’s already tense, already hunching down a little in his fighting position. He moves with her, not giving her an inch.

 

Kiba is well-trained, Sakura notices as he slides one foot to the back. Harder than what she expected but she can handle him.

 

Apparently he has the same thoughts as he sports a smirk.

 

“I didn’t fully believe that you would be the spy,” he tells her, eyes not leaving her form for an instant. “I guess I was wrong about you—”

 

She raises to the bait, curious. “How did you know?”

 

“I’m not just a looker, you know.”

 

“You’re boss, then?”

 

He gives a swift nod. There’ll be no more answers, she realizes, just as there will be no openings.

 

It’s time to strike.

 

With that thought, she plunged ahead.

 

-x-

 

_Ring._

_Ring._

_Ring._

 

He picks up the old-fashioned phone, one of those ones with a circular dial. “(Yes?)”

 

 _“(Hello.)”_ The voice is slippery and soft, almost like velvet, and he shudders. The only reason for this call is that he wants the project done. Now.

 

“(It’s—)”

 

_“(I need to talk to her.)”_

 

He swallows, nervous. Glancing to his agitated sister, still tinkering on the machine, he steels himself and covers the receiver end.

 

“(It’s him.)” Already he’s glad to have covered the phone—her curses would not have pleased him in the slightest.

 

“(Give it now.)” Wiping her grease-stained fingers, she picks up the phone. “(Yes?)”

 

Her voice is curt and professional already.

 

“(Nearly. No, it’s—if that is the case, then please continue with the original subject.)”

 

He can’t hear what’s going on the other side and chooses to make himself busy. Picking up the tools where she left them, he finishes the tightening.

 

“(Is that so?...No, I was not aware of that…Of course not. Very well then, I will send….Thank you for informing me.)” She hangs the phone up and he turns to her expectedly.

 

“(Apparently, one of our guests arrived earlier than expected. He sent one of our guards to deal with the guest appropriately.)” Her words are clipped and he can tell she’s annoyed. “(He still doesn’t trust us to handle these matters.)”

 

“(Why should he?)” He stops himself, watching her carefully.

 

A harsh laugh. “(That’s true. Either way, if one is here the other should be coming soon enough. I need to finish this today.)”

 

-x-

 

Sasuke briskly walks down the street, heading to a small park nearby. One of the ‘nature’ parks, with wild animals and plants growing there, not many frequented it. Only those adventurous hikers do so, at their own peril.

 

There is a reason a gate surrounds the whole park. When they left wild animals there, it was not only deer and raccoons. The predators didn’t disappear either.

 

Carrying a backpack and wearing thick boots, he passes through the gate inconspicuously. Another hiker trying his luck—the town doesn’t spare him a second glance.

 

(Some of the females mutter to themselves, “All the good ones go. And he was the best one to arrive in months. Maybe he’ll leave before it get too deadly.”

 

He can still hear them, his senses sharpened, and smirks.

 

There is no such thing as too deadly.)

 

Moving into the dense woods, he travels inward to a small cluster of rocks. At the base of the third one, there is a small hole, abandoned by a skunk years ago. Reaching in, he searches for anything.

 

Nothing. They still haven’t arrived. Reaching into his pocket, he takes out his own notes of the mission and places it in.

 

It’s fine if they don’t get it. There are plenty of wild animals to eat it—a den in this location won’t be empty for long.

 

-x-

 

She peers out the plane window, watching as the land grows larger and larger. They’re approaching the ground and she swivels her head to face him. “(We’re nearly there.)”

 

“(…They should be there when we arrive.)”

 

Sighing, she watches his calm expression. “(You don’t seem bothered.)”

 

“(…)” He opens his eyes to look at her. “(They are useful at times.)”

 

“(But,)” She gives him a grin at this, “(they annoy you the most. Especially with the—”)”

 

His peaceful façade crumbles as he remembers their other meetings and he hisses, “(I would rather not speak of it.)”

 

“(You don’t have to be shy.)”

 

“(I do not approve of those greetings.)”

 

She smiles at him. “(You just don’t want him to catch you like that. You’d get disowned for sure.)”

 

Silent, he turns his head away and closes his eyes once more.

 

Laughing, she looks out the window again. Nearly there.

 

-x-

 

Lucian feels the rough wool for a moment, stroking it lightly to make sure it is real. Then, carefully, as though it is made of silk and is spun like a spider’s web, he dons them. The wool scratches him a little but he doesn’t mind it.

 

Not when there’s a bigger prize to be won. Already his fingers feel warmer and he pats his cheek with his padded hands.

 

That man was nice, giving him money to buy gloves. Smiling as he looked at the other purchases in his bag (a loaf of bread, cheese, a few apples), his smile widens.

 

Maman will be pleased too. There’s a lot of food today.

 

-x-

 

Sasuke starts to walk back to their room. The sun is starting to set, decreasing the number of people on the street. Stars slowly wink into existence.

 

Not too many street lights, he notices. Easier for him to slip in and out of the shadows, then. Makes it easier, as well, for an attack at night.

 

Turning the corner, he arrives at the inn. The young lady at the register is replaced by her father, a stern man who glares at him as walks by. He pays no heed to him.

 

Opening the door to their room, he realizes she’s still not back. Whatever she had planned, it is either taking longer than she expected or she had not given him ample details on what was to go on.

 

He expects it to be the later—when she gets testy, she tends to keep things back out of spite and later out of forgetfulness.

 

Shrugging off his coat, he spreads it across the bed and starts replacing some of the supplies in the pockets.

 

It’s twenty hundred, according to the clock. Not too late then.

 

The matches in one pocket are all nearly gone—some were traded with the homeless for news. Turning to the closet, he pushes aside her coat—she would need that if she wanted to go out at night—and grabs a few more. Inspecting the other pockets, he refills his money supply.

 

Sitting on the bed, he takes off his boats and places them beside hers. She didn’t take her boots either.

 

Probably had to wear heels, more appropriate for a date.

 

Leaning back, he lies on the bed and closes his eyes. In an hour, dinner will arrive at the door.

 

She should be back by then.


	9. Mission Eight: Armed Goods

She's late.  Too late _ ~~\--~~_ this is not just a prolonged date anymore.  It's a _fatality_ (no, not that, he won't have any more deaths).  Something wrong must have happened, something Sakura didn't expect when she left. 

 

Opening the closet, Sasuke sees her bulging weapons bag untouched in the corner. Sakura didn't even take her weapons with her.

 

She's defenceless. It takes him less than a second after that thought to suit up, putting a few gauzes in his pockets as an afterthought .

 

 It's been long enough.

 

He's going to get his partner.

 

-x-

 

"I've got you now," Kiba pants, twisting her arm slightly. Sakura winces _ ~~\--~~_ the cuts and bruises are starting to take their toll and it won't be long before he breaks something.  Quickly, she spins around, kicking his legs in the process.  Startled, he drops her arm to jump out the way.

 

 _He isn't well-trained_ , she thinks for a moment. _More like self-trained, like Naruto is. They could probably be friends ~~\--~~_   Then she dismisses that thought _ ~~\--~~_ because she has always been too sympathetic, too willing to see the good in others. It might kill her one day.

 

Quickly, she backs away from him, not willing to do anymore flips with her current state. Her left leg was skimmed badly and there was a cut above her right eye, making it hard to see.  A sudden movement in front of her and she instinctively blocks it with a short knife.  A sharp clang, the hiss of sparks, and she knows it was the right choice.  Bringing her left arm back, she punches his stomach in the opening.

 

Something cracks, softly but surely. Tsunade's lessons are working _ ~~\--~~_ not that the metal tips on her gloves doesn't help.  She swings back but he moves too far out and something sharp cuts her right arm.

 

Her defence has always been her weakness.  She practices the dodging that she learned _ ~~\--~~_ _always keep the enemy to three paces away, within sight._ He starts to warily creep forward and she dances heavily out of reach at the last moment.

 

 _Wait until the moment is right_.

 

He makes another jab at her stomach. She can't avoid it, instead gives a blunt hit of her own.  The crack grows longer _ ~~\--~~_ she definitely hurt something there.

 

Kiba's breathing becomes laboured. Maybe she even hurt his rib cage, but she doubts that. Another hit, and that's different story.

 

Her own breathing comes out in gasps and quick, greedy intakes of oxygen.  He darts to the right, her blind spot, she thinks. She can't see. For a brief second, she panics, before her training kicks in.

 

He takes that second to attack. Her hand leaps out to grab his arm before he does anything damaging, but he still gives her a shallow slash.

 

She's losing too much blood. Well, not too much yet, but it's getting harder to think.  Harder to react.

 

Harder to _ ~~\--~~_ he gives her an opening and she takes it. This time, a bone certainly broke.  She just doesn't know who's because something is burning on right and _ ~~\---~~_  

 

She falls, to her knees, just as he does beside the tree he crashed into.

 

-x-

 

Lucian curls up beside his mother, her arm cold around his waist.  Looking up, he sees her closed eyes, a smile gracing her face.  She looks beautiful.

 

Like always.

 

Smiling back, he buries himself closer into her chest, the wind howling around him.  "Maman, you should keep curled up and warm.  You need your warmth."

 

It might snow again, within the week if not today. As it is, their shelter is barely standing against the piling snow and he will have to clear off a lot of it.  Not too much, though, otherwise someone else might claim it and leave Maman out in the cold.

 

"Maman was very tired today, " he murmurs to himself as he falls asleep.  "Very tired.  She didn't eat today." She worries him, sometimes, because she doesn't always eat when he finds food, and sometimes it takes a few days before he can get her to eat.   She hasn't eaten in days and something tingles in his mind.

 

Something important happened but he can't remember what. Something--

 

 _Oh, that hurt. It's hard trying to think of it,_ Lucian thinks. Instead, he'll just wait for it to come back.

 

In the meantime, his stomach growls, but he ignores it. "Maman still needs to eat," he reminds it. "I normally eat, so you can wait this one time.  Besides, if we get her to eat more often, then maybe she'll eat normally and you'll have to get used to less."

 

He closes his eyes once more, drifting to a warm house filled with food and Maman's smiles.

 

-x-

 

Sakura thinks he's stabbed her again.  Except, she's not really sure. The pain comes in quick, sharp attacks, disappearing into a swell that covers her everywhere before she can pinpoint it.  All she knows is that she hurts.

 

Wryly, she smiles. Grimaces.  She's been through worse, though she'd be hard-pressed to think of a moment right now. 

 

Kiba moves.  That much she is certain of, blinking her eyes to clear them of blood.  Her arms feel heavy but she manages to drag one of them to her eyes and wipes them this time. 

 

Kiba moves again, in starts and stops.  There are abrasions on his arms where she squeezed him and she's glad to see he's just as bad as her.

 

Only, he's better because he's moving a little faster now, approaching her. 

 

Another step, and she starts to crouch, pulling her body in to reduce the area he can hit.  She'll...she'll wait until he starts his attack and then hit him again. Surely he can't take another attack.

 

Except, neither can she. Or maybe she can--she's never really tested her capacity, never gone this far in without help.

 

Maybe she should have told Sasuke.

 

Kiba moves again. So slow _ ~~\--~~_ she half wants to yell at him to hurry up. 

 

Oh. Wait. She blinks again, unsure of what she's seeing. One moment Kiba's walking toward her, the next he crumpled into a pile on the ground, red blood flowing like spilled wine from his throat.


	10. Mission Nine: Intermission

He stares at the body at his feet with disinterest.  Disinterest and the remnants of anger. His hand unclenches, releasing the knife. It lands with a soft thud, as soft as it sounded when he sliced the neck.

 

Turning, Sasuke finally looks at her. She's staring at him with a stupid expression on her face,  a composition of surprise and relief.  Bending down, he picks the knife and heads to her.

 

"Can you get up?" As he asks this, he's already bending down, sure of what her answer will be. 

 

Only, she waves aside his arm, grunting as Sakura shakily gets to her feet. "I'm fine."

 

"Really?" He sees the cuts and bruises that litter her body, the blood and grime that is caked to her like a second skin. 

 

"Yes," this comes out as a gasp--she's taking a step. "I can manage."

 

"Stop being stubborn, Sakura." He tries to shoulder her but she dodges, nearly falling in her attempt to do so.

 

"I can manage.  Lead the way to the car."

 

He pauses, watching her shaky steps.  She's keeps a slight distance behind him, not letting him get close enough to help.

 

He'll just have to wait her out, then.

 

-x-

 

Sakura won't lean on him.  She promises herself this. She isn't as weak as she used to be, relying on him and Naruto to get her through every trial, to save her from every demon.

 

She will shoulder this pain, and she will not give in to it until they're in the hotel. 

 

He seems surprised, though it's not very obvious. Sasuke has never seen her in an actual battle before--any mission they have done together before were mostly data collection ones. Nothing that would lead to combat, at the very least, though maybe to a few slippery escapes.

 

It's hard to prove yourself when someone else is orchestrating the situation, telling you when to run and where.

 

However, in battle, that's where everything comes into play. 

 

Sasuke probably never expected her to fight and win. He's probably never seen her this injured before either.

 

She grins morbidly. This certainly must have given him something to think about.  He starts leading the way to the car, which almost throws her off because she expected him to not give up.

 

Unless...he's accepted her strength. Or maybe, he hasn't.  Sasuke could probably tell her, "I know you're strong, very strong, and I respect that," and Sakura would expect this to be some sort of trap.

 

Each step causes an earthquake, shifting her pains to the left and the right. Tremors run all over her and she wants to give in, wants to let him carry her.

 

She won't.  Not again, not now.

 

He finally stops at his car, not helping her even once, and for that she's glad. When she sinks into the seat, leaning against the window, she thinks she can be forgiven one small nap.

 

A nap...it sounds nice...especially since it'll get her away from the aches and his questioning eyes.

 

Sakura starts to slip away when one last thought pierces her.

 

She didn't win this fight. Kiba was still moving and--Sasuke killed him.

 

She lost.

 

-x-

 

Lucian crawled out of the cardboard box,  shoving the snow away with his hands until he had tunnelled himself out into the open air.

 

His face felt sticky, sticky and frozen.  His cheeks felt stuck in place and he reached up to wipe away the tears.

 

It's ok, he's a big boy. He can manage, he can survive. Maman...Maman wouldn't be very happy if she found out he was crying instead of finding found.

 

"Go-Goodbye, Maman," he whispers into the tunnel, ignoring the crack in his voice. "I'm meeting a very important man today.  After that, there'll be no more worries. " Then he slips down the street, chewing an apple, and trying in vain to stop crying.

 

-x-

 

"(It's done.)" She glances at him, her eyes dropping.  "(Now I just need to run a few tests and we'll see if it works properly this time.)" "

 

He glances up from the paperwork,  the numbers and lines that danced in front of him. He's always hated this kind of work, preferred playing to this but it's only fair he did something.  He might be lazy, but he's no fool.  She would kill him if he did nothing.

 

"(Why don't you rest first?)" His hand shuffle the papers together, his fingers, nimble from strings after strings, arranging them properly without  a second thought.  Maybe he should take up his guitar again.

 

When they had the time and money, that is.

 

She glowers at him, cranky, and he knows he said something wrong again. "(I don't...)" She slips into English by accident, her accent barely there.  "have time. Our guests might arrive at any moment and we need to finish everything perfectly so it can be sent."

 

There was a time when they knew English like the back of their hand, he thinks. Or maybe just her--he was far too young when they moved to Germany to remember it properly.  Now she used it rarely but it always amazed him how easy it was for her to recall it. He could barely use it at all, even with all the lessons.

 

"(I think the guests can wait.  Didn't _he_ say Inuzuka was sent to deal with them? Even if they survived, they would be pretty wounded.)"

 

"So?" She's still speaking English, probably hasn't noticed her lapse yet. "It doesn't help if Ghost isn't sent out in time.  We need to do this." Even as she's saying this, she's resting her head on the table.  "Though, maybe a short nap wouldn't hurt...prep the guards, ok?"

 

She's out like a light. She works too much, really, is too worried about getting their sibling the best care possible.

 

He doubts, though, that their boss really intends to give them any help.

 

-x-

 

He just might be choking. 

 

She watches his face turn purple.  Yep, he's definitely choking.  This is the point where she, as the helpful partner, should be rescuing him.

 

Only, it's far too interesting to see her usually cool and collected partner change colour and desperately try to escape. He catches her staring and she tries to hold back a chuckle.

 

He's going to kill her for this, she just knows it. She still doesn't move.

 

"(MY YOUTHFUL FRIEND!)"

 

She almost forgot there were two and laughs as he suffocates once more.


	11. Mission Ten: Safehouse

The room is dark and she tries to stop paying attention to that detail. It only scares her more. Something's off about the walls, but she ignores them.

 

He's still behind her, waiting for her to turn around.

 

_It's ok. I can face him. It's only just a dream._

 

She slowly starts to turn, when she finally realizes what's wrong with the walls. The dark red fades away, as though her realization forces the illusion to move.

 

Now the room is pitch black with strings of neon green. Numbers--1, 0, 1, 1,--binary code she decides.  Column after column of binary. The floor changes and now she's in a room composed of code.

 

She knows, without turning, without hearing anything, that's he's laughing at her.

 

**_What took you so long?_ **

 

-x-

 

She wakes up to the sound of clinking. There is something warm across her limbs, something that weighs them down even more.

 

Sakura feels dizzy...disoriented.  Where is she?

 

" _Koori_ " is the response.  Oh, she asked aloud without realizing it. And that was....Sasuke's  voice.

 

Then--

 

With a rush, she remembers and immediately sits up.  "Ooh.... " she moans, falling back down. Bad idea, very bad idea. It feels like a hundred hammers are banging in there.

 

That is nothing when compared to her head. She lies there, gasping, not noticing the figure standing beside her and carefully handing her the pain killers and a glass of water before she falls asleep again.

 

-x-

 

"(He won't agree to it. You know that.)"

 

She ignores him, stretching  once more as she started marking the map.  "(We need three guards at each entrance,  seven doing border patrol, and--)"

 

"(Dammit, you--)" He pounds his fist on the table. She only just woke up, four hours later and without enough sleep. All ready to take command, once more, just like that.

 

"(If you won't make yourself useful, then go check up on him.)"

 

He stops. "(Fine. Have it your way. But, if something goes wrong...)"

 

"(It'll be my fault, I know. It always has been.)"

 

"(I...)" _didn't mean it like that._

 

-x-

 

She wakes up again, an hour later and able to get up this time. Sasuke's sitting on his bed, going through a foreign--Kiba's--jacket, putting things into two piles. Useful and useless.

 

She half-wonders what pile she belongs to.

 

Glancing down, she notices her arms are bandaged. Odd, she could have sworn--

 

Oh.  Sakura tries to fight down the blush as she realizes he bandaged her stomach. She's still wearing the grimy clothes and she thanks him for that one decency.  If he had changed her too, she probably would have not been able to look at him for days.

 

(Just when she is so close to showing how un-fangirly she has become...)

 

He doesn't stop with his sorting, is not speaking to her either, but she can tell he's watching her from the corner of his eye.

 

"Thank you." She beams, giving him a tight smile when she accidentally twists her stomach too much. This will take weeks to recover to full strength.  They don't have weeks. Or days, for that matter.

 

"You have his uniform and pass card," she realizes, watching him quickly dispose of the useless items. "I see...when do you plan on going in?"

 

"This week,"  Sasuke informs her, putting the jacket and pass card carefully into the closet. "I'm going out."

 

She watches him exit, sees his eyes linger on her form for a moment before he closes the door.  Waiting, she counts to ten before leaning down.

 

It still hurt. Not so much she would pass out, but just enough that she could bear it. Reaching into the bag beside her bed, she shifted her fingers quickly before grabbing on the pills.

 

Good thing Sasuke isn't around to see this. He'd be very angry if he found out she took one of Tsunade's experimental pills to help heal her faster.

 

Glancing at the bottle, she quickly takes another. She needs to run in a day or two otherwise Sasuke would leave her behind again.

 

-x-

 

When they were younger,  his older sister used to smile a lot. She was still bossy, rude and constantly yelling, but she could let go and relax then.

 

Of course, this was before they realized that Gaara needed help. Serious help. This was before Temari started to work to the bone trying to earn enough, before she forced him to join her.

  
(She would never admit it but Kankuro knew that family meant a lot to her. Especially since there was no one else left.)

 

It still wasn't all that bad then. Gaara would have moments of clarity, each period lasting longer and longer, and they would have meals filled with...warmth.  Arguments, laughter, he didn't really mind it.

 

Then _he_ arrived and everything changed. Gaara disappeared into the abyss of his mind and Temari...

 

Temari stopped smiling.


	12. Mission Eleven: The Take

It's almost blinding, the room. The dark and the bright contrast too much, her eyes are barely able to adjust to the jumps. 

 

This time she ignores the guy behind her, instead leaning to a wall curiously.  Her fingers sink into the code, brushing through layers upon layers of numbers.  So much work, just for a wall? It astounds her. She can feel the harsh edges of the code, the softness of the murky space between.  Even in this, there is a contrast.

 

Moving to the window, she notices the differences in the code.  The 1s and 0s appear in a different order here, perhaps to make the glass different from the walls.

 

If she opens the window,  maybe she would be able to see more of the world.  Maybe she could spot the intricacies and the--

 

**_I wouldn't do that if I were you._ **

****

She stops, startled by his voice. It's calmer than she expected. 

 

-x-

 

She isn't waking up, he notes when he gently shakes her shoulders. Maybe her wounds were more serious than he thought.

 

Something in him panics, ramming angrily against his doubt, and Sasuke tries again, frowning.  No, he couldn't have been wrong.  Another shake, harder and more desperate than the last.

 

This time, she jerks out of his arms, eyes wide.  "Wait," she pleads, before realizing her surroundings. "Oh....Sasuke, what are you..."

 

He checks her carefully for a moment, glancing at her shirt, her head, to see if any blood is seeping out. Nothing appears, no danger signs, and he relaxes.

 

"I'm going to be gone for the night," he informs her,  moving away from her back to his bed.  On it lies an unfolded map and on this he neatly writes out a few notes.

 

Carefully, Sakura stretches her legs on the bed. Feeling no jabs of pain, she starts the first stage of her plan. "When do you plan on going, again?"

 

"In three days."

 

"Soon,  but not soon enough."

 

He doesn't say anything but stops moving, glancing up at her. Sasuke's giving her his undivided attention and Sakura quickly makes use of it.

 

"You really should go today. Or tomorrow, but no later." She watches him frown, his eyes narrowing and his lips twisting into a grim line.  It probably wounds his pride to hear her give him advice.

 

"We're not ready," he replies, cool as a cucumber.  Sakura can see, though, the embers sparking. He always had a temper problem and now, after repressing it for so long, it manifests in the smallest of things. His closed fist, his tense voice, signs he doesn't even realize he's giving.

 

"We might not be, but they are.  We were only given a week or two for a reason.  They are almost done their device and they won't keep it long."

 

"..." He remains silent and she knows that he's seeing her point.

 

She continues to reason with him.  "Besides, they won't miss Kiba for too long."

 

He almost sighs, nodding. "True. " He doesn't say much else and she can tell he still thinks they need more time.

 

"So, are we leaving today?"

 

 _"I_ will be leaving tomorrow." He doesn't look at her as he says this.

 

"What?" She stares at him, not understanding.  "I'm going too!"

 

"Sakura, no." His voice sounds final,  the argument over, but she doesn't stop.

 

"Why not?" She stares at him, willing him to look at her. "Why can't I go?"

 

He ignores her, folding the map once more.  "You're not healed enough. You'll only get in the way."

 

"But--"

 

"No."

 

"Sasuke!"

 

"Sakura,  this is annoying.  You're wounded. We only have one uniform.  You can't go in anyways." With that, he gets up, donning his coat. "I am getting some supplies." Then he disappears from her sight.

 

He still thinks she's weak. If he were the one lying here, he would still go. Sasuke wouldn't allow anything to stop him.

 

Besides, even if he has a point, she has to go anyways. There is a reason she's on this mission--there is a part that only she can do.  To leave her behind would be to blow the mission.

 

Outside the window, the snow piled up and her eyes flickered there for a moment before she tried to roll out of bed.  Her limbs throb to a dull pain, not half as bad as the first day but not good enough either.  Sakura reaches down once more to take another pill, sighing.

 

In a few days, this is all going to come back to haunt her. Tsunade's pills haven't been perfected yet. The healing is small and most of it is temporary.

 

Good enough to walk with, at least.  She changes and leaves the room.  She has fish to fry.

 

-x-

 

"(Let's hurry.)"

 

She  grins at his impatient tone. "(Ready to leave them?)"

 

"(We have a mission to finish,)" he replies curtly, walking even faster.

 

"(Aw, Neji, can't admit that you're happy to meet them again? That you loved their hugs?)" she continues, even though she knows it's the exact opposite. Ignoring his  annoyed expression, she adds "(Someone can't--)"

 

He switches to English, blatantly glaring at her. "Tenten, hurry up."

 

"(That's not fair!)" It's her turn to feel irritated. "(You know English is my worst language!)"

 

"I wonder why." He doesn't continue, just walks toward the doors closest to her right. "(You need to be good at both English and French this time.)"

 

She tries to hold down a hiss. Those are both her worst languages. Just once, couldn't they go to Germany or Egypt, or some other country where she could speak without worry?

 

-x-

 

She isn't in the room when he returns. Something rises in him,  something he can't identify. It's violent and calm at once, something akin to worry but stronger--there is no point in further analyzing.

 

The window is shut, the room shows no sign of struggle, and the door was locked when he returned. Either Sakura left on her own--she was too hurt for him to believe this--or a professional was hired.

 

Sasuke starts inspecting the room more thoroughly, carefully looking at everything. Even the most professional hitman leaves some sort of trail, something small but still useable. Her bed is messy, the way it normally is when she gets out of it, and her shoes are missing. So is her coat and--

 

It looks more and more like she left on her own but he  is still inclined to doubt it. She was too wounded to do so.  Anything she needed was in the room, so she wouldn't have a reason either.

 

It had to have been a professional.

 

He starts to look carefully around her bed, almost opening the drawers in her table when he hears a sound.

 

When the door opens a second  later, he immediately turns, a weapon in his hand.

 

"(Sasuke-kun?)" In her surprise, Sakura reverted to Japanese but he doesn't reprimand her this time. Instead he quickly approaches her, eyeing her with suspicion as he holds the knife quickly.

 

"(Code. )"

 

" _Koori_." She pauses, seeing him about to ask her another question.   "(Your Uchiha's coat of nobility involves fire and I've known you since I was eight. Naruto is your best friend, even though you don't see him as much anymore,  and you love tomatoes. You also have the worst mother/brother complex in the world.)"

 

"....hn." He takes this as confirmation, frowning at the last comment,  before starting his interrogation. "Where were you?"

 

"....Sasuke, you know you can't leave me behind." She's avoiding his question and he gives an irritated growl.

 

"Sakura, answer the question." Narrowing his eyes when she doesn't respond, he repeats himself.

 

"I am. You can't leave me behind." She interrupts him when he tries again. "Our mission requires my skills in hacking. You are not as good as me in that and _they_ are pretty good at security, so you can't do it."

 

"..." She is right but he won't admit it. "I will just have to make do.  How are you walking?"

 

"You won't be able to hack in. You haven't done any hacking in years and I know you have never made a virus--I know that you trained separately for those three years, but I also know that you didn't practice any of these information techniques, Sasuke. You don't consider them useful enough to practice thoroughly in. "

 

While that is not completely accurate (he did practice somewhat in those fields,  he would have to be an idiot to not see how technology is useful and he is anything but that), Sasuke doesn't argue there. She probably is needed.

 

"I have another guard suit," Sakura adds, seeing her chance. "I was thinking ahead when I managed to get Kiba the other day.  He was guard number two, the one that was supposed to give me information." 

 

Sasuke doesn't respond.  He really shouldn't be bringing her with him but either way his mission is at risk.  She has to do the actual destruction of the codes, otherwise there is no point in retrieving the device.

 

Yet, she also will be a danger, not able to react fast enough when they have to fight. He'll have to protect her, something he has not done in a while, and she will be stubborn enough to think she can fight when she's this wounded.

 

If he had the time, he would call for back-up. The only problem is that the response he received made today the only day they can carry out the operation.

 

Shit.

 

He looks at her, watching her walk to the bed.  He doesn't know how, but she is somehow able to move there without wincing. "...you will have to remain behind me. Run at the first sign of danger and do not disobey my orders."

 

She nods, another suspicious sign. Ever since he returned four years ago, he's seen her confident and brash. Never one to take an order standing down.  It's unusual to see her this compliant.

 

Against his instincts, he takes this as a part of her desire to come with him and ignores it.  
 


	13. Mission Twelve: Canon

She inwardly sighs with relief.  Sasuke's still suspicious of her, she knows that, but at the very least her plan worked.

 

Only, she expected to return before him, so she wouldn't have to deal with this. At the very least, he didn't ask anymore about her recovery. She has never been a good liar.

 

Smiling, Sakura stares at the bag in her hand.  Later, she'll tell Sasuke the truth and have him hide the guard's body. He is hidden for the moment but it won't take too much digging to find the corpse.

 

It will last until the mission is completed, though. That's enough.

 

Glancing at the watch, she realizes it's time to take the medicine again. Under the pretence of taking painkillers, she carefully slips out a few of Tsunade's pills and swallows them.

 

-x-

 

They arrive at the building around eleven-thirty. The moon is hidden behind a cover of clouds and the leaves rustle restlessly. Sasuke leads--like always--and Sakura carefully follows when he indicates she can.

 

She tries to use as little energy as possible, saving her strength for later. Numb, that is what her limbs feel like at the moment. Numb and without much flexibility.  She stretches them subtly as she waits near the door,  flinches when her muscles ache.

 

The medicine will probably wear off in a day.  There's enough time, she hopes, for her to get in and out.

 

Sasuke reappears beside her right then, almost causing her to scream. Almost, but she knows better than to let her surprise show.

 

He wouldn't keep her out if she did that.

 

He signals her-- _Door is open. Get in now._

 

A nod. She creeps behind him as he enters the building.

 

-x-

 

"(Temari, they might come tonight.)"

 

Looking back at her brother from where she is inputting the last set of data, she frowns. "(You're in charge of security. Deal with it.)"

 

Kankuro can barely hide his shock at her words. "(...I thought you wanted to--)"

 

She returns to her work, not paying him much attention as her eyes dart from the computer screen to her notes. "(You can manage. I'm sure.)"

 

"..." This is the closest she'll ever come to saying she trusts him and he knows it. A grin breaks out across his face before he can hide it. "(Of course I can.)"

 

"(Then get to it. If they make it in, make it so they can't get out.)" She isn't fully paying attention at this point and he quietly slips out.

 

He'll make her proud.

 

-x-

 

The corridor is oddly empty. They only have to hide in the branching hallways five times, ducking behind silver carts and in dimly lit rooms as guards marched by.  Sasuke would cautiously creep forward, looking at his map every now and then as he lead her further and further into the maze.  Every turn gets her lost, deeper and deeper as she starts to forget her way back.

 

Right, left, right, right, left. It goes on.  At times they have to break locked doors and dodge cameras (duck, jump, press to the wall).

 

Nothing too hard, nothing too impressive. Only this maze, this complicated and never-ending maze, makes the place as secure as they expected.

 

Treading silently, softly, she keeps up with Sasuke as he turns once more.

 

It's too quiet here. Even with their footsteps, the odd clanking of guns from unseen guards, the mute chatter of the workers, she could hear her heartbeat.  It thrums in her ears as steady as anything and she feels stifled.

 

Something is wrong with this. She doesn't know what, but something is wrong.

 

Sasuke doesn't seem to notice but then again, she can't read him. Not anymore.  Maybe she never could in the first place--she always thought she knew him when they were younger.  Knew him better than Naruto, for though that boy could understand him better than she ever could or will, she could guess what Sasuke was thinking.

 

Sakura never expected Sasuke to leave them for those years, so maybe she had been deluding herself back then. Wanting a connection that didn't exist. 

 

A connection that might never exist.

 

-x-

 

He doesn't have to turn back to hear her harsh breaths as they head deeper into the facility. Her wounds are still bothering her, he can tell. Earlier she groaned as she flexed her legs, stopping when she spotted him.

 

She's still trying to put up that facade of strength and he almost wants to snap at her for that. Almost, but doesn't--it's not really his business if she decides to push herself so hard.

 

(Then again, something tugs at his mind, a guilty reminder of how he might have caused this change in her. )

 

"Sakura," he mouths as they crouch behind a table, listening as the pair of boots trots steadily down the path they came.

 

"What?"

 

"Can you still keep up?" He cuts himself off at that point, realizing how she'll probably take his words.

 

He isn't disappointed.

 

"Of course I can!" She all but snarls those words, shooting them at him angrily. "I won't hold you back."

 

"..." He stops himself from trying again. Let Naruto deal with her--he's better at explaining things than Sasuke is.

 

Still, as they continue, he reduces the speed slightly, noting the slight limp Sakura gives as she races after him.

 

-x-

 

A screeching alarm greets Kankuro as he enters his office.  It pierces his ears as he quickly sits in front of the screens, his fingers typing quickly as he pulls up footage.

So, they entered from the west wing, the one closest to the forest.  It is the weakest area, after all, so that is to be expected.

 

Still...

 

"Shit." They are still making their way through the building. Currently, they haven't been found, but that won't last for long.

 

"Groups one and two, head for Gaa--the subject's room. Three, protect the experiment room. As for the data room..." Kankuro pauses here, thinking. This was expected, a break in. They had the pass-card from Kiba after all. There hadn't been enough time to change the security system yet. Hadn't been enough time between the final preparations and the phone-calls.

 

That's fine. This isn't a total surprise and if the spies think that they have the upper hand, then they have another thing coming.

 

"Groups four and five, you will meet me at the security room."

 

He will get them. After all, he knows what they are here for.


	14. Mission Thirteen: Techint

 They turn, Sasuke peering around the corner first and Sakura creeping behind him. The door opens quietly and shuts without a noise.

 

That feeling is rising in her again but she ignores it. If she's right, then she has to do everything quickly.

 

"It's here,"  Sasuke states, straightening from his crouch. His hands slip into his pockets, pulling out a small gun. "I'll keep watch."

 

In the room, a criss-cross of wires fill half the floor. They tangle in one another, a maze of snakes and colours, before finding a socket or a computer to jack into. Three long tables line up in front of the wires,  eight computers sitting on them. Their monitors shine brightly, lines of text appearing on the page every few seconds.

 

"The computers are monitoring something," Sakura whispers to herself, brushing past Sasuke to approach the other side of the room. Large boards cover the walls here, diagrams of the human body pinned on it with pages of data beside each close-up. Taking out her camera, Sakura quickly starts to take photos.

 

Snap! A shot of an arm, the words, _abnormal growth_ standing out among the grey. The leg, the brain, the heart, each with its own diagnosis.

 

A patient, perhaps, or an experiment. Perhaps a subject for this experiment.  What can they possibly be doing here?

 

She turns,  facing the tables now, the folders lying on top of them. There isn't much time, probably, so she settles for recording the labels of the files and opening ones that seem interesting.

 

"Done yet?" Sasuke pokes his head in the room, his body still tense. He senses it too, she thinks, this unease.  Something is wrong in this building.

 

"No, I still have the computer."

 

A nod and he returns to his post outside, shrouding himself in the shadows of the door as he waits.

 

All the computers are on, screens of code scrolling down as she watches. Moving down the tables, each computer equally active, Sakura quietly frets. There is no other way to get the files than to disrupt one. And that might set of a warning.

 

And that gives them even less time.

 

"Damn it," Sakura curses, choosing one at random and quickly putting her flash drive in the USB port. Escaping the program, she pauses as she stares at the login screen. That's ok, she can do this. All that training, for the last four years, all of them were meant for this day, for this moment.

 

She can do this.

 

The world fades out as her fingers fly.

 

-x-

 

"Sakura?" Sasuke quickly returns to the room. She should be done by now.

 

Unless her wounds are hurting, like they should be, and--

 

"Sasuke!" She turns to face him, her right hand gesturing wildly. "Hurry!"

 

"What?" He dashes across the room, his senses alert.  "Did you get everything?"

 

"Huh?" She turns back to the computer, her fingers quickly saving the file she's looking at. "That's not important.  However, _this_ is." She opens a file, a diagram appearing. It rotates, a odd bed-like thing, and scrolls of text appear as the mouse floats over different segments.

 

"What is it?" He isn't computer illiterate, but they don't have the time for him to understand this. Don't have the time to stay here either.

 

"This is deadly, Sasuke.  This 'Ghost', it...it isn't just a radar. That's what our sources told us but they didn't understand anything. It's not just a radar."

 

"Then--"

 

"It's more advanced than the Kyuubi." Sasuke stops at that, staring at her. "While the Kyuubi can just detect objects and then allow Naruto to find it and attack it with, well, _everything,_ this _Shukaku_ can detect specific objects within a certain radius and then...I don't know if I fully understand the next part. Does it teleport there and destroy it, or does it...there's something about a digital world but...I have to decipher it more to--"

 

Sasuke listens, his blood running cold. The Kyuubi is bad enough but having another weapon like that--"We're going."

 

"What?" This time she turns to stare at him, while reaching down to retrieve the memory stick.

 

"We need to leave. Decode it when we get back."

 

"Right." Quickly, she turns back to the computer, her fingers tapping furiously. "Let me just--" a quick tap on the return key and she turns to face him, smiling. "Just destroyed their files on it. Luckily, they haven't finished testing, so they might not be able to complete it or make it work."

 

"Did you find out the man who--"

 

"No." She frowns as she gets up, following him out of the room. "Nothing had the name of their benefactor. Nothing. Hopefully there's something in the files I took, but still..."

 

A splitting scream, the sound of a siren, pierces her ears as they slink down the hallway. 


	15. Mission Fourteen: Zero-out

_Ok, they got the files. That's fine. That's just dandy._

 

Kankuro repeats this to himself as he quickly marches down the hallway. He expected something like this, at the very least, and...

 

There is always the plan. It should work, it's a good plan.

 

His guards are in place, he's moving to set off the first of the signals, and...well, he can capture them. Temari trusted him, didn't she?

 

(And that is what causes him to break out in cold sweat, the thought of failing her.)

 

Turning right, he enters the room and flips the switch, the screens glowing eerily as he approaches the command system.

 

Time to set phase one off.

 

-x-

 

They run, harsh breaths escaping her lips as their feet pound on the ground. She can't see anything except the black of Sasuke's shirt, the edges of her sight framed with white.  Instinctively, she follows the slapping of his shoes, her senses tuning out everything but him.

 

Oh, but it's getting harder to breathe. Her chest tightens and her legs burn, the pain shooting up like an arrow, a path of blazing fire left in its wake. It burns brighter and faster with each step, each stride, and her breaths are shallower and shallower.

 

The pills are starting to wear off. That was expected but not now. It's early and--

 

Sasuke pulls her to him, pressing her tightly against his chest as they hide in a doorway. Outside she can hear the thumping of guards, the shouts and yells as men move quickly down the hallway.

 

She can hear Sasuke's heartbeat, a comforting sound. Her eyes close, taking it in--

 

And they're running again, only this time the yells are right behind them.  There are echoes in this hall, chasing them as they zig-zag onward. Sasuke's memory is leading them, it's all she trusts, and they run closer home.

 

"Keep moving," Sasuke says, not turning as they rush down the white halls. The doors flash like silver lights, blurring into a single line, a freight train.  "Don't forget, Sakura, the promise. If I say leave me, you will leave me." It is with those words he turns his head, his roving dark eye landing on hers, a grim determination set on his face.

 

He doesn't expect for both of them to survive this, she realizes as she nods rapidly.

 

Then again, Sakura thinks, another pain growing on her leg, she knows they won't be able to escape easily. Not with her body breaking down with each step. 

 

Promises are meant to be broken.

 

\--and she won't let that strong heart fade away.

 

-x-

 

"Stop them!" Turning her head slightly, Sakura spots a brown-haired man, strange marks covering his face, as he directs soldiers left and right.

 

Three halls are converging where they are now, guards flowing out of them like water, and there is only one escape route. The guards have yet to shoot, a small mercy, but she can't appreciate it much. It only means they have something else they are confident in.

 

Sasuke is a little ahead of her--her legs can barely stretch now, freezing with each bend, biting with each step.  Her stomach... if she tries to, she can distance herself from the pain, from the noise, from the world.

 

It isn't enough, though, and everything filters back in. The first thing she notices is this sound, a small tapping noise.  A tiny noise but she recognizes it immediately, her head snapping back to see the brown-haired man, obviously the leader, inputting a command to a computer.

 

Just what--

 

The final corridor, the one to the outside world, is larger than most. Three, four, five men can comfortably pass through it, side by side.  However, now some sort of dark grey screen is sliding down the furthest point. Slowly and ominously, it creaks and their exit is disappearing.

 

She sees Sasuke moving faster, his pace hastening as he realizes what is happening. He'll make it, she's sure. It's only herself she's worried about.

 

-x-

 

A final trap. He should have expected that, considering the lack of security and the ease with which they are escaping. Still, it comes as a surprise.

 

He has to be a little faster if he is going to cross it and give Sakura enough time to pass as well. Speeding up, he hears Sakura's footsteps quicken as well, matching his step.

 

A little further--he ignores the shouts behind him, the angry yells. Nothing exists but the door, this moment, the small gap between them. 

 

Crouching, he slides past the gap, the smooth metal pushing him along. His right hand flips him over and he turns to help Sakura.

 

Only, was she always this far behind? She seemed closer before, but the gap between them is too large.

 

She won't make it.

 

"Sakura!" _Hurry up. There’s no time._

 

A small smile crawls across her face, painfully--she isn't healed at all, the idiot. He never should have brought her. He should have known she wouldn't be able to manage this.

 

(Always realizing these things too late, when it can't help anyone.)

 

A soft nod and she slides the camera and the flash-drive to him. 

 

"Sakura!" It's futile, he knows, but he still yells her name, the door clanging shut, the last glimpse of accepting eyes.

 

She knew she wouldn't make it, he realizes. She knew.

 

-x-

 

It surrounds her, this metal cage, mesh criss-crossing in front of her eyes. The guards, the leader, they've all disappeared from the hall and all that's left is her and this metal cage.

 

At least Sasuke's escaped, she thinks, pleased with herself. At least the mission is accomplished and he's safe and--well, he can't say she held him back.

 

Her line of reasoning feels a little off, a little hysterical, and that's when she smells it. Some sort of gas is entering this cage, enveloping her, and--


	16. Mission Fifteen: MIA

It's the room again, the dark and light patterns throwing her off for a moment before she reorients herself.  She's sitting on the bed this time, facing the window.

 

 _He_ is behind her, silent as usual. Nothing malicious about it, just a lazy stare. 

 

"..." Her mouth, it's useless here. She opens it, pushes her words, but they stop at the entrance. They remain trapped and she feels like she's in kindergarten again, bullied by the popular girls, unable to say anything.

 

Yet, even here, in this dream world, her eyes slowly close, fatigue hitting her. How can she be tired in a dream? It makes no sense, yet dreams aren't supposed to make sense.

 

 _We'll meet again_ , he says (thinks? she can feel the message, like she can feel the sad smile on his face, but how?)

 

She drifts away again.

 

-x-

 

When they were young, Sasuke once told her he had a lot of plans for his future.  She sat beside him, listening to his words as they slowly and carefully slipped out. The breeze was chilly but she didn't mind.

 

There were so many items on that list, childish dreams that had no place in the real world, in their world.

 

(Beat Naruto at everything, teach Sakura how to properly defend herself, do the most missions...)

 

It was no surprise, really, that when he disappeared from their lives for those years, disappeared without a word or trace, those dreams disappeared with him. There were no letters, no phone calls, nothing until he suddenly came back.

 

That was when the change became apparent.

 

There were no more talks about beating his brother, about making his father notice him, about helping his mother recover.  He spent less and less time with Naruto and her and any moment they did have was spent training or studying.

 

Naruto didn't mind the training as much but sometimes he would like to take breaks. The one time he got to play a prank on Sasuke was also the last. He mentioned something about children's games and work and...withdrew. Into the cocoon he surrounded himself with.

 

Sure, sometimes he would be sarcastic or give a smirk or say something, do something that would make them think he was the same boy they grew up with.

 

Those were false hopes, dashed quicker than they rose. 

 

Sakura, for her part, didn't try to talk to him like before, already knowing what his response would be.  She was smart enough to know he had changed and why.

 

After all, he had moved on to the real world and small things like friends didn't belong there.

 

-x-

 

She lies there, dizzy and disoriented. The metal bars are cool to the touch, causing her to shiver and curl up.

 

Where is she--oh, that's right. She was captured while Sasuke managed to escape.

 

At least he has the data. The mission wasn't a complete failure.

 

(And there is something in her that cries, just a little, because there is no more protection, arms pulling her to safety. All she has now are unknowns and a certainty that each breath might be her last.)

 

 Sakura raises her head slightly, trying to judge where she is.

 

The cage surrounds her, keeping her in a small enclosed area. Beyond that, there are steely grey machines set a few steps apart, with a table with straps beside each one. Wires criss-cross on the floor and a giant monitor takes up an entire wall. Nearby a young woman with blonde hair is typing on a laptop, glancing from that screen to the screen of a computer in front of her.

 

"She's awake," someone says. Looking away from the girl, she sees a man with a strange marks on his face.  It's hard to judge his age but she recognizes him as the one they nearly fought with.

 

The girl responds to him in some foreign language--German, Sakura thinks--before the man disappears from the room. She remains silent and Sakura rests her head back down, tired.

 

She needs to think of an escape strategy.  She doesn't have any more pills and their effects have all but vanished.  Carefully patting herself, she finds none of her hidden weapons or any of her tools. Basically, she's stuck with nothing.

 

She's a spy, she can handle this. If need be, she'll just keep her mouth shut and wait for them to kill her. Or give them fake information if they try too hard.

 

Maybe she should bite off her tongue then...

 

She lifts her head again, along with her torso and rests on the wall.  Sakura's still there, thinking, when _he_ walks in.

 

She might never have actually seen his face before, never heard this man's voice, but she knows without a doubt that this red-haired man is the person from her dreams.

 

-x-

 

He runs because that is all he knows.

 

Even now, when he's stronger, it's still all he can do. Even when he promised that he'd never do it again (wouldn't leave his wounded mother lying there, her blood pooling, that knife glinting), his first instinct is to run.

 

So Sasuke runs, out into the forest, past the trees and ferns that whip at him like an angry trainer.

 

Perhaps he should stop, try to find another way in. But it is a little too late for that, he's too far gone.  Besides, he saw that door, saw the blueprints. This is the only entry point on this side and the other is too far away.

 

And he'll be damned if he wastes the information Sakura gave him.

 

(He grinds his teeth, anger coursing through his veins even more than this desire to run. It's pure, unadulterated anger: at Sakura for sacrificing herself, at those guards for capturing her, at himself for letting this happen.

 

He's weak. Once more. Useless, powerless, and that perhaps angers him the most.)

 

This is also suspicious, these lack of guards chasing him. There should be someone in these woods following him, trying to reclaim these documents.

 

But, if what Sakura mentioned was true...

 

A chill runs down Sasuke's spine as he emerges from the bushes, sprinting to his car. If what Sakura said was true, if that machine of theirs is operational, they wouldn't really need to.

 

With the push of a button, they could catch him and he wouldn't have a sign, a hint, as to what was happening.

 

-x-

 

"This it?" She gets up from her crouched position, raising her tinted shades slightly. It's cold and desolate in this area, this abandoned stretch she landed in.

 

"The town is a little further," Neji curtly replied, already rolling up his parachute.  She follows his cue, gathering her bundle before she pauses once more.

 

"How much further?"

 

"Two to three hours by walking."

 

Tenten sighs, continuing with her work. "Only you would think that is just a little further."  She gets up now, shouldering her pack, ignoring how the straps imprint on her skin. It's a long hike and they'd best be moving.  "At least Sakura will be there," she smiles. "She knows exactly how I feel."

 

Or maybe not, because Tenten and Neji are more permanent partner-wise due to their squad, whereas Sakura gets to switch partners depending on the mission.

 

Still, she has Sasuke for this mission and he is just as bad as Neji.

 

Cheerfully thinking of this, she leads the way, humming lightly.

 

-x-

 

Temari glances at her brother, a mix of pity and fear welling in her eyes for a minute. For only a minute, and then it's gone, replaced with that strength she leaned on those past years.

 

"Is he tied down?" She asks, glancing at Kankuro and then the straps. "Last time he--"

 

"I know, I know," Kankuro sighs, getting up from his seat and confirming. "He broke some equipment and you took away my designs and I ended up starving for a week." His hands move quickly, effectively, and he tugs on a clamp before moving on to the next one. "Done."

 

"Good."

 

Sakura grimaces as she watches. That boy, his eyes wild and crazed as he struggles against his confinement, is the one from her dreams. She doesn't know how she knows this but the knowledge sinks deep in her bones.

 

Only, he's calmer in her dreams and here he looks like a madman, baring his teeth and growling. At moments, he gets a rare glimpse of thought and starts to threaten them.

 

Those moments are scarier than the others.

 

The other two in the room, that strange man who captured her and that woman with the four ponytails, turn their attention to her. She got their names, Kankuro and Temari, but other than that...she isn't sure of who they are.

 

Of what their relationship is with that boy, for Temari's face falls in shadow when she looks at him and Kankuro almost reaches out to touch him.

 

"Hmm...." Temari approaches her, tapping her chin lightly as she does so. "She matches the description. Gaara was lucid enough when he said it and the screens confirmed it."

 

"That's true."

 

"Then..." Temari looks at her for a moment before glancing down at her clipboard. "We'll strap her in as well."

 

"But--"

 

"Do it. Now." There is steel in her voice and Kankuro obliges quickly.

 

Sakura, for her part, struggles. Or at least, she tries to. Only that drug--what did they give her?--burns and eats away at her every movement, sinking her deeper and deeper into that black hole with every kick.

 

His hands are clammy against her skin, cool and sweaty and she jerks herself away even more violently.

 

"Come on," Kankuro mutters, reaching further in, and she swings her legs at him.

 

Only, the drug kicks in and she sinks into the abyss.


	17. Mission 16: Wet Job

This is what Sakura hates the most about him returning. Sometimes, he says and does things that make think nothing has changed at all. That everything is the same. He'll insult her and react like she used to expect and...

 

She'll have to steel herself once more when he closes himself. And she hates that. So she stopped taking his comments seriously, stopped thinking that those strange fits were permanent. Stopped trying to treat him like he was the old Sasuke and more or less treated him like a strange new companion, one that she met and while she grew close once more (started to fall once more), she kept that little distance.

 

For as long as she thought, "He's just a good agent" just another workmate, then she could ignore those small advances he makes and not get hurt again.

 

-x-

 

The town is small, smaller than she expected, and Tenten slinks in as the sun sets. Neji comes after (not slinking, because that goes against his pride and whatnot).

 

"Where are they staying?"

 

"The hotel down the street." Neji carefully slides his arm around hers and starts to walk. At her raised eyebrow, he adds, "Less conspicuous."

 

While this isn't entirely unwanted, it annoys her nonetheless and she holds his hand in a bone-crushing grip.

 

He doesn't complain, of course, but her smile broadens as he pales slightly.

 

-x-

 

When Sasuke returns, he doesn't sink on the bed and cradle his head. He doesn't pause and stare at her empty bed, her empty glass sitting on her side table.

 

Instead, he is a blur of movement, his hands swiftly packing her strewn clothing, his empty casings. He can't leave a trace of his (their) presence. His mind, his prized brain noted for his quick thinking, is already racing through thousands of possible plans.

 

(and there is still a part of it frozen, still watching the door slide shut)

 

He'll have to leave Sakura for now, get the information home. He can't waste her sacrifice and it's too risky to save her now. He'll have to get back-up and ensure the information has been safely passed on first.

 

And, there is that alternate plan, to just bust down the door and find her, but he knows better. He should know better.

 

There is no time for doubt or hesitation. What he wants to do and what he needs to do are entirely different.

 

Suddenly, he hears the doorknob slowly turn. Instinctively, he pulls out a small hand-gun, a small click heard as he turns off the safety.

 

The knob stops and a low feminine voice whispers, “Sasuke?” It's familiar and soft and for a small, irrational moment, he thinks _Sakura_.

 

But Sakura isn't here; she's trapped in that laboratory in the forest. Where he left her. Where he’s leaving her still.

 

Cautiously, he creeps up to the door, his back flat against the wall as he starts to turn the knob. His left hands pushes the barrel through the crack of the door, his right hand ready to pull out a dagger.

 

"Hiya, Sasuke!" the voice continues, chipper, and he sees a brown eye.

 

Sighing, he pulls open the door, revealing a grinning Tenten. Her own gun is out as well, despite the cheerfulness of her greeting, and she sweeps in. Her partner silently nods to him before entering as well.

 

"Nice place," Tenten comments, sinking onto Sakura's bed. She bounces for a moment before glancing at Sasuke. "So, how's the mission?"

 

"...we got the information." He opens a small pouch tied to his belt, pulling out a small USB and a digital camera. Neji approaches him, picking up the camera and glancing at the photographs. "Apparently it's more dangerous than we anticipated."

 

Tenten listens, watching as her partner's frown deepens. Obviously, it's a lot worse than expected.

 

"So...." Tenten glances around once more, ignoring the sinking feeling in her stomach, "Where's Sakura?"

 

"She didn't make it."

 

Her body freezes, just like that, and she can't stop the shakes that rack her body at those words.

 

-x-

 

Lucian shivers, curling up into an even tighter ball as he sits on the sidewalk. The strange man hasn't appeared again. Not for hours, days, and it's getting colder. His stomach grumbles and he pets it softly.

 

"There there, it's okay," he isn't sure if he's trying to comfort himself now. "He'll come back, he said he would."

 

The snow falls softly around him, deceptively innocent. A harsh breezes blows, his ears turning redder and his nose clogged.

 

Still the man hasn’t appeared.

 

“He will come, he will,” because he has to because there is no other way out because he said he would.

 

Only, there is one thing he learned after all those years on the street.

 

Lies are exchanged as easily as handshakes.

 

-x-

 

"What happened?"

 

"There was an ambush and she got captured." Simple and straight to the point and it tells Tenten nothing at all.

 

“That doesn’t tell me what happened.”

 

Sasuke ignores her, returning to his conversation with Neji. “This information is very important and urgent. They need to see it now.”

 

Tenten taps her foot, angry.  “Why did you leave her?” She thinks she might be growling a little.

 

He still does nothing.

 

“How are we saving her?” She shoves Sasuke to the wall, or at least tries to. He only moves back a few centimetres before stopping.

 

“We aren’t.” Sasuke pauses, then adds, “Unless you are willing to take the information back in my stead.”

 

“...” Neji glances at the data, then back at the spy. “Is a level of authorization needed?”

 

“No. As long as it reaches their hands, it is fine.”

 

“Then we shall do it.”

 

“Good.”

 

Tenten watches, grinning. “Okay, so how are we rescuing her?” Already, the heavy pit in her stomach feels lighter.

 

“We’re not going,” Neji cuts in, frowning.

 

“Why?!”

 

“Our duty is to take the data to safety.”

 

 

 

“...” Tenten swings her legs off the bed, slowly stalking to his position. “Neji,” she hisses, her voice low and her eyes glinting, “You are not going to tell me that I cannot save my best friend.”

 

He takes in her anger, her controlled movements, and sighs lightly.  “Wait two hours, I will be back by then.”

 

“I knew there was a reason I partnered with you.”


End file.
